Lil Kim, Remy Ma, Iggy Azalea, Cardi B, City Girls, and now Latto. What female rapper does Nicki Minaj not beef with?
I want to start off by acknowledging the enraged Barbs that this article will probably get. First things first: Nicki Minaj is an incredibly talented rapper who has paved the way for incoming artists that I could never discredit even if I tried. That said, the way that Nicki goes about things is seriously flawed. I am not a Barb and have never been; I have always been a fan. However, in recent years (and even months), it has come to my attention that Nicki isn't as sweet and kind as I thought. Most female rappers, and even male rappers, look up to Nicki for her penmanship, versatility, and longevity, but because of the way she both publicly and secretly acts, people have come to the realization that their fav, Nicki Minaj, is in fact problematic.
I want to start off by acknowledging the enraged Barbs that this article will probably get. First things first: Nicki Minaj is an incredibly talented rapper who has paved the way for incoming artists that I could never discredit even if I tried. That said, the way that Nicki goes about things is seriously flawed. I am not a Barb and have never been; I have always been a fan. However, in recent years (and even months), it has come to my attention that Nicki isn't as sweet and kind as I thought. Most female rappers, and even male rappers, look up to Nicki for her penmanship, versatility, and longevity, but because of the way she both publicly and secretly acts, people have come to the realization that their fav, Nicki Minaj, is in fact problematic.
Nicki Minaj has run the female hip-hop industry for about 15 years now, but that hasn't come without controversies regarding other female rappers. It started when she first got into the rap game, with Lil Kim being her first victim. Lil Kim was at the time one of the most respected female rappers, but she went through a steep decline when Nicki started becoming mainstream. It was evident that Nicki was taking inspiration from Kim—from the crazy wigs to the alter egos—but she never gave Kim any recognition for the inspiration or her creativity. In interviews, she made Lil Kim look like the "bad guy," a "has-been," and "bitter," and with that, Lil Kim faded away into obscurity, and it was time for the Queen to reign.
During her public beef with Remy Ma, allegations of Nicki Minaj being petty behind the scenes arose. Remy claimed Nicki was attempting to "stop her bag" by telling people not to collaborate with her or not to invite her to red carpet events. But eventually, the public took Nicki's side, saying that Remy was just jealous that she had no career anymore after coming out of prison. In the end, the Queen would continue to reign supreme, remaining unchallenged for the next couple of years. That was until the population of female rappers grew significantly.
During her public beef with Remy Ma, allegations of Nicki Minaj being petty behind the scenes arose. Remy claimed Nicki was attempting to "stop her bag" by telling people not to collaborate with her or not to invite her to red carpet events. But eventually, the public took Nicki's side, saying that Remy was just jealous that she had no career anymore after coming out of prison. In the end, the Queen would continue to reign supreme, remaining unchallenged for the next couple of years. That was until the population of female rappers grew significantly.
Now that there are so many female rappers in the game, Nicki has changed tactics, opting to throw subliminals in tweets, verses, and on her podcast, Queen Radio. Recently, she had public beef with an upcoming mainstream rapper named Latto because of Grammy nominations.
|
Now, there has always been a rumor that the Grammys don't like Nicki Minaj, and that is why during her whole career she has yet to receive a single Grammy award, so her being slighted shouldn't have been such a surprise to her. The Grammys had put her song "Super Freaky Girl"-- which, in my opinion, isn't even close to being her best song-- in the pop category. Nicki responded to this by categorizing her song on Twitter. But in this tweet, she mentioned Latto’s song “Big Energy,” saying that her song should also be moved. Personally, I think Nicki's argument is valid; the songs have the same pop vibe, so they should be classified as "pop" rather than "rap." But in response to this, Latto called Nicki out for using her name/song, saying that they weren't on good terms after their previous conversation and that this was a dig at her. This shocked most because after Latto and Nicki exchanged back and forth through tweets, Latto posted a video recording of her conversion with Nicki. In it, it is obvious that Nicki knew she was in the wrong but was trying to use intimidation tactics to scare Latto off.
|
|
I was completely disappointed in Nicki’s actions. It seems that she will belittle any female artists she sees as threats, even though Latto has said on multiple occasions that she is a Barb. Nicki should be wanting to have a female rapper unity mindset because of all the years of being in the rap game by herself. Nicki loves to say she paved the way for all the new female rappers, but now she has a problem with it when they start getting better accolades. It seems that she feels like every female rapper should worship the ground she walks on, and if they don't then they're automatically enemies. She wants the shoutouts and flowers of a retired rapper but still wants to be active in the genre.
She says that she feels dismissed and discredited by the new rappers, but this is exactly what she did to Lil’ Kim when she came into the game: she distanced herself from Kim and hyped herself up, claiming she was original, when Kim's fans knew that she wasn't. Yes, her mainstream success and popularity got her further in her music career. But that doesn't make her superior to the rest of the female rappers in general. She has become a standard in rap, but it is now time for the new generation of female rappers to become standards for themselves.
A real queen wouldn't carry themselves this way; her attitude towards the new generation is horrible. She inspired this new generation, and everyone knows that, but it seems as if she doesn't know herself because she doesn't seem secure in her position and keeps bringing it up every 5 minutes. She is not in her prime anymore, and that is okay. It doesn't diminish her contributions to hip-hop if another rapper is on top. Instead of the path she is on, perhaps it would be better for her to enter an era of mentorship and collaborations aimed at uplifting the new girls of rap like Flo Milli or Monaleo. Or even better, follow in the footsteps of Beyonce by getting off social media, unless it directly correlates with dropping new music.
She says that she feels dismissed and discredited by the new rappers, but this is exactly what she did to Lil’ Kim when she came into the game: she distanced herself from Kim and hyped herself up, claiming she was original, when Kim's fans knew that she wasn't. Yes, her mainstream success and popularity got her further in her music career. But that doesn't make her superior to the rest of the female rappers in general. She has become a standard in rap, but it is now time for the new generation of female rappers to become standards for themselves.
A real queen wouldn't carry themselves this way; her attitude towards the new generation is horrible. She inspired this new generation, and everyone knows that, but it seems as if she doesn't know herself because she doesn't seem secure in her position and keeps bringing it up every 5 minutes. She is not in her prime anymore, and that is okay. It doesn't diminish her contributions to hip-hop if another rapper is on top. Instead of the path she is on, perhaps it would be better for her to enter an era of mentorship and collaborations aimed at uplifting the new girls of rap like Flo Milli or Monaleo. Or even better, follow in the footsteps of Beyonce by getting off social media, unless it directly correlates with dropping new music.
Overall, it's depressing. Nicki, who has had a great impact in hip hop, does get constantly neglected by critiques and even award shows, but she needs to be more humble and less self-absorbed in her title. It feels like she is competing with these other girls and losing. I just hope that one day she will realize that she does have some maturing to do because the way she is currently acting isn’t making her look good and is ruining her reputation.
bETTY RIVERS
