Whenever two huge rappers start beef, it’s always tough for other artists and collaborators to work with one without dismissing the other. However, in the case of Nicki Minaj versus Megan Thee Stallion, this might put many more female rappers against each other based on their perceived allegiance, which is a sad reality. For example, the former recently played JT’s new song “Sideways” on Stationhead, and she thanked Nicki for her support. Under coverage of this co-sign on Instagram, many fans called out how the City Girl has worked a lot with Megan in the past, with the Houston MC even advocating for her freedom at one point. Now, though, the Florida rapper is more closely aligned with her former collaborator’s current rival.
Of course, this doesn’t really mean anything in the grand scheme of things. JT can easily work with both Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion and maintain a personal bond with them. No rap beef should limit artists from making the art they want to make with who they want to make it with. Still, many fans believe this is a public switch-up with some more damning context behind it. “All I’ll ever think of is when she called JT out on that live and made her rap that diss track she made,” one fan claimed in a comment on the post below. “girl y’all aren’t friends she just needs a lapdog to do as she says.”
Furthermore, this also pertains to previous instances of the City Girls dissing Nicki Minaj and other big femcees during their come-up. JT even addressed this with the Trinidadian hitmaker during an Instagram Live session, and some fans think that she just submitted to being in an inferior position. On one hand, it’s heartening to see past feuds wash away, but on the other, the timeline is inconsistent to follow, especially when compared to the 31-year-old’s relationship with Megan Thee Stallion. It’s all very unclear and hazy, but that didn’t stop the criticism from flowing in.
Meanwhile, with the Traumanize lyricist acting relatively unscathed on social media about this beef, it’s unlikely she has legitimate ill will toward her former collaborator. Well, Nicki’s also a former collaborator, so perhaps only time will tell. Nevertheless, hopefully more artists and fans can advocate for an easing of tensions given everyone involved’s talent. On that note, keep checking in with HNHH for the latest on Nicki Minaj, JT, and Megan Thee Stallion.
Last year for Black History Month, I marathoned as many 1970s Blaxploitation classics, deep cuts, and spoofs as I could stomach. This year, though, there’s only one movie I want to recommend. A few days before writing this, I rewatched the 1999 Jim Jarmusch indie cult classic, Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai, for the first time in something like 10 years. I yammered about it so much that my girlfriend told me to pitch my editor just to shut me up.
Here’s why this quirky mishmash of hood, mafia, and samurai movie tropes electrified my brain: Despite coming out 25 years ago and completely bewildering contemporary audiences, Ghost Dog perfectly captured the hip-hop zeitgeist of the 2020s, predicting the rise of the dominance of Black geekdom over pop culture. At the same time, it offered a singular snapshot of its moment in time and nodded to a long legacy of Black weirdoes who refused to follow any code but their own.
The film revolves around the eponymous Ghost Dog, an iconoclastic mafia hitman played by Forest Whitaker. Ghost Dog is inspired by the samurai code of honor, as represented by a copy of Hagakure, a collection of commentaries recorded by Yamamoto Tsunetomo in the early 18th century, which Ghost Dog always carries around with him and regularly recites from throughout the film. He also practices swordsmanship on a rooftop and communicates primarily by carrier pigeon. Early reviews pondered the character’s potential mental illness; I choose to think that these critics were simply unfamiliar with the concept of the Black nerd.
Ghost Dog has declared himself the “retainer” for Louie, a low-level wiseguy who he believes saved his life. After a hit goes wrong, Louie’s gang is ordered to kill Ghost Dog, prompting the assassin to fight back – but not for the reasons you might think. The film is by turns chaotically violent, quietly philosophical, and darkly hilarious, and you might be as surprised by some of its moments of tenderness as thrilled by its innovative brutality. There are subtle literary allusions, powerful thematic resonances, and a hell of a head-nodding soundtrack.
The latter first drew me to Ghost Dog the year after it came out in just a handful of theaters. I’d read online that the soundtrack was produced by RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, and being in the middle of my hardcore backpacker era, I was immediately sold once I learned its premise. In 2000, I was also knee-deep into that phase so many of us go through when we are obsessed with Japanese culture and media – especially anime.
Unfortunately, around this time, the concept of “anime” in the US was a little hazier than it is now. Just reading the term here, you probably immediately thought of examples like Attack On Titan, Full Metal Alchemist, or My Hero Academia. Back then, it’d have only drawn blank stares from the overwhelming majority of the general population.
To view “Japanimation,” as it was cringingly called back then, you had to “know a guy” who could get you “fansubs” – VHS tapes hand-edited to add English subtitles. These were translated by hobbyists and transmitted in a legally dubious process of distribution to specialty shops in heavily Asian neighborhoods (the nearest one for me was in a deeply racist part of Orange County, meaning I literally risked my life at times to get my anime fix, while today, it’s as easy as logging into Netflix).
To make matters worse, there were few, if any, other “otaku” (the Japanese word for geek, used by Americans for anime fans) in my circle of acquaintances, coming from Compton and going to school in Long Beach. Today, we call them “weebs” and they basically run pop culture. Rappers shoot anime-style music videos and regularly reference terms like “Super Saiyan.” Megan Thee Stallion is presenting at Crunchyroll’s Anime Awards in Japan this year. Lil Uzi Vert is basically an anime character in real life.
Basically, being really into Japanese pop culture meant that you basically were Ghost Dog, in a way. Throughout the movie, multiple characters note how unusual he is for adhering to a way of life that had long been extinct and seemed to be at odds with his existence in a blue-collar neighborhood in New Jersey interacting with Crips, Bloods, and undocumented Haitian ice cream truck drivers. In a touch of irony, even his guidebook, Hagakure, was written at a time when samurai were by and large going out of fashion in a modernizing Japan. I may or may not have had my own copy, inspired by the film.
Yet there had always been people like this, who used nostalgia for bygone eras and intense passion for far-away cultures to fortify themselves for life spent in lower-class America. Take RZA, who makes a cameo appearance in the film in addition to producing its soundtrack (an underrated gem from his catalog, by the way). His love for kung-fu movies and Zen philosophy not only inspired him and protected him from the worst of what the hood can do to a young Black person but it also formed the foundation of his future prosperity with Wu-Tang.
Likewise, if you ask any of today’s young Black geeks, they’ll tell you how they relate to the medium’s many tales of overcoming adversity through self-belief and constant improvement. The cyclical nature of some of the medium’s most popular properties like Jujustu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, or Bleach resonates with them as they face the challenges of similar cycles of inner-city violence, personal prejudice, or systemic injustice.
Today, a Ghost Dog could walk past you at the subway station or the grocery store, and you might not bat an eye. At most, you’d shrug, but even if you didn’t understand, you’d get it. That’s what makes them happy. That’s how they get through the day. That’s what keeps them going. Cosplay (dressing up as your favorite character for conventions, exhibitions, and photoshoots) is nearly as commonplace as wearing a jersey to a ballgame (which, when you think about it, is basically just sports nerd cosplay).
Ghost Dog’s respectful interactions with the gangbangers in the film offer of microcosm of this perspective – and a reflection of how it really felt back then, being surrounded by guys up to their necks in turf wars who simply acknowledged my weird hobby and left me alone. Wearing blue or red could be dangerous where I’m from, but a Dragon Ball Z T-shirt was like a neutral flag. They didn’t get it, but they got it.
Even in 2000, the winds were shifting. By the end of the decade, a lot of those same guys were asking me for spoilers for the next episode of Dragon Ball. And by the 2010s, hip-hop had been infiltrated on a national level by artists who wholeheartedly embraced anime and manga (the comic book counterpart of anime) on their album covers and in their lyrics.
Lupe Fiasco won a Grammy in 2008 for “Daydreamin’,” a song in which he imagines his project building as a mecha, or giant robot (and has for the past few years, run around practicing with a literal samurai sword on his social media). Then, Nicki Minaj began calling herself the Harajuku Barbie and rocking pink wigs and anime-inspired fashions. Now, Denzel Curry, Juice WRLD, and Lil Uzi Vert all have songs titled “Super Saiyan” and Ski Mask The Slump God name-drops Naruto in his song “Catch Me Outside.”
Watching GhostDog again, it was clear how it fits into the slow build from then to now. In the film, Ghost Dog bequeaths his knowledge in the form of his treasured book to another young outsider, his neighbor Pearline. In much the same way, the film itself feels like it’s passed down its appreciation of outsiders to the next generation. Critics at the time seemed baffled; in my research, I’ve come across dozens of audience reactions that suggest many who watched it felt the same. It may not have been a massive hit (although it surprisingly made triple its budget at the global box office and has since been included in the Criterion Collection), but those who needed it undoubtedly found it and found themselves validated by it.
The film affirmed Black nerds of the time both by acknowledging that they existed and by confirming that Black nerds always had. In doing so, it’s not a far cry to believe that it made it okay for them (okay, fine, us) to keep going, to keep being weird, to keep marching to the beat of a drum no one else could hear. It certainly helped make it clear that this demographic existed; there are now anime featuring Black characters created by Black people such as proto-anime The Boondocks, and Yasuke, which was co-written by Flying Lotus and is about, yes, a Black samurai. Ghost Dog’s path may have been a solitary one, but he also blazed a trail, and now, legions are following in his footsteps.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The countless references to anime in her music make it abundantly clear that Megan Thee Stallion is a manga nerd (an otaku, if you will). But yesterday (February 1), the “Cobra” rapper showed off her deep Rolodex of reality television moments. While on the set of a secret project, Megan quickly caught up with her biggest Hottie fans on the internet radio broadcast app, Stationhead.
During the stream, Megan revealed that she’s finding herself in a much healthier mental space since the tumultuous obstacles she faced last year. After revealing that she’s working on a documentary about her life, she went on to say that she’s gotten reprimanded for giving away too much content online. However, users online believe that Megan subtly taunted her foe, Nicki Minaj, in the closing moments by leaning into her Roc Nation affiliation.
“Don’t make me call Porsha,” Megan joked about her management team getting reinforcements to stop her from oversharing. The reference to Bravo’s Real Housewives Of Atlanta then turned into, “Don’t make me call Roc Nation.”
After the clip hit social media, users online took the line to be shade toward Minaj based on her recent jabs at the company. On January 29, during the height of their (“Hiss” versus “Big Foot“) sparring season, Minaj slammed Roc Nation on X (formerly Twitter) for promoting Megan’s diss record toward her.
“Spending so much money,” she wrote. “But she’s the lil broke independent artist. Desiree, you gotta let it go, baby. The world knows she’s ass & can’t rap. Stop f*cking trying to make fetch happen. #BigFOOT. I just put out a song with no promo, no video, and it’s already #2. ”
Spending SOOOOOOOO MUCH MONEY. but she’s the lil broke independent artist. Desiree, you gotta let it go, baby. The world knows she’s ass & can’t rap. Stop fkng trying to make fetch happen. #BigFOOT.
Is it shade? It very well could be, and given Megan’s clever use of double entendres (that recently almost led to a potential lawsuit), you certainly can’t put it past her.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Over the weekend Nicki Minaj released her new song “Big Foot.” The track was packed full of disses aimed at Megan Thee Stallion following Megan’s own song “HISS” which dropped a few days earlier. While Megan doesn’t mention Nicki by name in her song, fans were able to read between the lines. In the days that followed Nicki wasn’t afraid to mention Megan by name in dozens of tweets and repeatedly in “Big Foot.” While the song initially soared to a high debut as fans eagerly awaited her response to Megan’s disses, it’s taken a bit of a nosedive on its third day on the charts.
Following it’s high debut on its first tracking day for the Spotify charts, “Big Foot” slipped down to number 23 in its second day. Now on day three it’s plummeted all the way down to #69 earning just 500,977 streams. That’s in contrast to Megan’s song “HISS” which is spending its third day at the top spot adding 1,639,359 new streams yesterday. Additionally, “HISS” is now expected to challenge Jack Harlow’s “Lovin’ On Me” for the number one spot on the Hot 100 in its first tracking week.
Nicki Minaj’s “Big Foot” nosedives in day 3, down 46 spots to #69 on US Spotify with 500,977 streams. @theestallion’s “HISS” spends a 3rd day at #1 with 1,639,359 streams. pic.twitter.com/NaYnPs3c4Y
Following the release of the diss track Nicki Minaj has continued to cause controversy. One moment occurred during a Twitter Spaces conversation with Joe Budden. Minaj made a comment about Megan’s shooting incident with Tory Lanez that fans found extremely insensitive. She claimed that Megan was just looking to have her “Rihanna moment.”
In another controversial move, Nicki tweeted support of Ben Shapiro’s new song. The conservative talk show host recently made his first foray into rap on a new Tom MacDonald song. Nicki’s cosign of the track unsurprisingly didn’t sit well with many of her fans. What do you think of Nicki Minaj’s song “Big Foot” taking a major dip in new streams on day three? Do you think Megan still being at #1 is proof that she’s won the beef so far? Let us know in the comment section below.
Nicki Minaj is climbing to new levels of controversy in recent days. It all began when her beef with Megan Thee Stallion erupted over the weekend causing Nicki to tweet near constantly for the entire weekend. Many of these tweets ran incredibly incoherent sometimes even stretching to hundreds of words. That culminated in a diss track called “Big Foot” that she unleashed at the end of the weekend. The track received massive ridicule from fans online for a lack of clever bars and numerous claims that were found to be straight-up lies.
Nicki doubled down on her controversy earlier this week during a Twitter space with Joe Budden. She was discussing Megan Thee Stallion’s shooting incident with Tory Lanez. She claimed that Megan wanted to have her own “Rihanna moment.” The comparison of traumas was just one of the numerous issues fans have with her insensitive statement. Seemingly by complete coincidence, conservative pundit Ben Shapiro found himself weirdly wrapped up in the beef. He made his introduction to rap, a genre he once called not real music, with a feature on Tom MacDonald’s new song. During his verse, he makes lyrical references to Megan’s hit “WAP” and even mentions Nicki by name. And Minaj was clearly listening to what he had to say.
“Wait til they ‘wake up’ & listen to what Ben Shapiro is saying in #Facts The ‘outrage’ on this one will be a tad bit delayed,” Nicki said in a new tweet. As you’d expect the cosigning of a controversial right wing politician didn’t sit well with many. Fan backlash was abundant in the replies.
“The same man who disrespected you and your music for years? The same man who also hates illegal immigrants? You can’t be serious nicki, this man stands against your whole being as a black woman who had to come here illegally as a child,” one fan points out in the top reply to her post. Others took more of a joking route implying that Minaj has fallen pretty far from grace. What do you think of Nicki Minaj’s new tweet endorsing Ben Shapiro’s new song “FACTS?” Let us know in the comment section below.
Juicy J has seemingly taken a side in the beef between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion, although it’s not an overt line in the sand. Still, there are very little other ways to interpret his support on Twitter of the latter’s newest single “HISS,” which is what ignited this outright battle in the first place. However, it wasn’t the song to start this spat, as the two sent subliminal shots at each other long before Queen Barb retaliated with “Big Foot.” You can also argue that this fiery revisit mostly owed itself to Nicki’s response to the “Megan’s Law” bar seemingly referencing her husband’s sex offender status, but that could apply as a general line in a lot of circumstances.
Furthermore, Juicy J didn’t like a tweet shading Nicki Minaj, retweet a disparaging comment, or say anything about the beef specifically. He simply quote-tweeted “Let’s go!” on a promotional video and thankful message from Megan Thee Stallion for fans’ support, encouraging them to keep watching the music video and listening to the track. For those unaware, the Three 6 Mafia legend and the Houston superstar have collaborated often in the past, such as 2019’s “Three Point Stance” with additional support from the City Girls. As such, this respect between collaborators is hardly surprising.
Another example came as recently as last August, when Megan Thee Stallion and Juicy J filmed a TikTok together. Regardless of that bond, he didn’t really ever outwardly diss or suggest any animosity with Nicki Minaj, another MC that he worked with in the past on tracks like 2014’s “Low” with Lil Bibby and Young Thug. With that in mind, we don’t think this endorsement is anti-Roman, but rather just an artist supporting another. Perhaps there’s more behind-the-scenes tea about this that we’re still not privy to.
Meanwhile, “HISS” is on the path to massive success, on pace to cinch Meg’s first solo number one hit. “Big Foot” is doing very well too, though, and once both tracks have been out for a full week, we can really break down the numbers. Do you think Juicy J has the pull to turn the tide? Hit the comments below with your takes and, for more news on him and the latest updates on Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj, stay logged into HNHH.
Many celebrities tout their own unique cult following of loyal consumers who would go above and beyond to defend them. Unfortunately, the modern era of social media and parasocial relationships has led some famous people to surround themselves with obsequious yes-men who will insatiably do their bidding, no matter how absurd. One such example is Nicki Minaj’s so-called “Barbz.”
The Barbz actively employ threats and online harassment to aggressively target Nicki’s enemies and critics. At times, they have gone so far as to doxx the personal information and whereabouts of those who speak negatively about their femcee queen. With the latest headlines once again maligning Nicki Minaj and her band of crazed fans, it begs the question: are Nicki Minaj’s Barbz the most dangerous fan base in all of music?
In a move that truly sounds impossible to accomplish, Nicki Minaj’s fans have successfully doxxed a dead woman. In a vehement response to the ongoing rap feud between Nicki and Megan Thee Stallion, the Barbz have gone to the extent of researching and uncovering the location of Meg’s mother’s burial plot. Some fans have issued threats to show up at the site, hinting at unsavory acts of vandalism.
The cemetery security has been notified of this ongoing breach and has pledged to maintain a watchful eye over the plot as the story continues to unfold. Megan’s mother tragically passed away from cancer in 2019, and has nothing to do with the ongoing exchange of words between Nicki Minaj and her daughter which recently culminated in tracks such as “Hiss” and “Big Foot.”
Clearly, this is twisted behavior that should unequivocally be condemned by any artist, though Nicki Minaj has a long and unfortunate history of whipping her fans into a fervor like this and letting them loose, or even actively encouraging them to engage with their worst impulses. While Megan’s family is the most recent example of this trend, they are far from the first victims of the Barbz’s toxic ire.
This Is Not The First Incident With The Rapper’s Fans
Several victims of Nicki Minaj’s Barbz have taken to social media to inform the public that they have lawyered up against the ravenous fans, after suffering harassment similar to that of Megan Thee Stallion in years past. While some famous people such as Lil Kim have faced the ire of rabid fans, many victims of the Barbz include random teenagers voicing their distaste for the rapper on social media. Many onlookers have even taken to comparing the Barbz to the crazed central character Dre from the Prime Video series Swarm.
Swarm was created by Donald Glover and Janine Nabors to illustrate the wild lengths some fans will go to in order to impress their favorite musician. The show features a crazed fan who locates and brutally murders members of the public who take to social media to voice criticism of her favorite singer, Ni’Jah. While the show primarily draws real-world parallels to the fan base of Beyoncé, it seems that Nicki Minaj and her Barbz are far more deserving of the title at this time.
Nicki’s fans have brigaded subreddit communities, turned out in droves to cyberbully autistic TikTok users, and even ganged up to launch a widespread attack on her husband’s sexual assault victim, in a disgusting display of toxicity. Hopefully, Nicki will come to her senses and gain control over her over-protective fans quickly before they spiral out of control on another unsuspecting critic. With all this toxicity and horrifying behavior, the Barbz are genuinely a dangerous fanbase.
Megan Thee Stallion is in full rollout mode with a new album and tour on the way, and that always involves a lead single to get fans excited, prepared -– and streaming. Moreover, despite the quality behind the under-appreciated “Cobra,” it seems like “HISS” will serve this purpose quite well for her when it comes to both how it’s resonated with fans and with commercial metrics. According to Chart Data on Twitter, the Houston rapper could land a No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 if its numbers continue on the pace they are at as of writing this article. While the report doesn’t indicate a particular number, Billboard themselves reported that the song continues to grow and garner more and more streams.
As such, Megan Thee Stallion could potentially have her first-ever No. 1 debuting song as a solo artist. This would be a great start to this new phase of her career, and would also lay the foundation for more buzz and promotion from a purely commercial standpoint. But the 28-year-old still impresses with blazing flows, combative energy, and some really sharp lines to contrast her previously measured and emotional single. What she needs to keep up is this sense of dynamism and freshness with each cut, and we’ll have a great project and lead-up to cherish in 2024.
However, the “Hot Girl” continues to face a lot of scrutiny and backlash from some rap corners in the game, albeit not many. For example, Wack 100 recently claimed that there is a video of Tory Lanez’s shooting of her that proves that she is lying, and that this incident didn’t happen at all between them. Many fans debated the veracity of this on social media, given that there is no evidence of this clip. Some believe the prosecution and court suppressed it in Lanez’s trial, whereas others expressed shock at how fans continue to challenge the conviction.
Meanwhile, on the topic of conflict, Nicki Minaj’s response track “Big Foot” is also performing well commercially. It played at some big events, broke streaming records for hip-hop in 2024, and made a big splash on arrival in other ways. No matter which song you think is better, this success can only set the bar for their future work, and only they can capitalize on it. On that note, come back to HNHH for more news and the latest updates on Megan Thee Stallion.
Fans of Megan Thee Stallion are no doubt aware of the fact that the prolific femcee has a number of nicknames and alter egos. One of her most popular alternative titles is Tina Snow, a name which she shares with her 10-track 2018 EP. Meg’s favorite rapper of all time, Pimp C, is the origin of the nickname, which many fans may not know. In fact, her admiration for the “Int’l Players Anthem” rapper significantly influences much of the Houston native’s sound and style, highlighting Pimp C’s impact on the genre today. Here’s a look into how exactly Megan coined the name Tina Snow, and what the esoteric title means to her brand.
HOUSTON – APRIL 3: Rapper Pimp-C of the rap group UGK during the video shoot for the lead off street anthem Pourin Up from Pimp-C’s highly anticipated solo album Pimpalation on April 3, 2006 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bill Olive/Getty Images)
Before his untimely death in 2007, Pimp C utilized a number of monikers in his music, just like Megan Thee Stallion. His inventive use of the title Tony Snow ultimately inspired Meg to gender-swap the nickname to Tina Snow for her own use. Throughout Pimp C’s discography, he commonly referred to himself as Tony Snow, often using the nickname as an alter ego to refer to the habit of selling cocaine, or “snow.” The motif of selling cocaine also doubles as a metaphor for pushing “dope” music to the masses.
The first name Tony was likely chosen due to a number of popular crime figures throughout both true history and fiction, including Tony Montana and Tony Soprano. As Tony Snow, Pimp C would approach the mic with a cool, laid-back style which inspired Megan from a young age. Once the “Hiss” rapper began pursuing music as a career path, she knew she needed to pay homage to her favorite performer, taking on her own iteration of the Tony Snow name.
Megan Gender-Flipped The Nickname To Inspire Other Women
During interviews, Megan Thee Stallion has explained that she picked up the alter ego of Tina Snow both to pay homage to Pimp C and also to inspire other femcees to rap with the cool confident swag often reserved for upper-echelon rappers. Being that she hails from Houston, the same hometown as the legendary UGK rapper, Megan felt that it was her place to carry the torch left behind by Pimp C and inspire a new generation of forward-thinking hip-hop listeners.
When rapping under the title Tina Snow, Megan Thee Stallion delivers more aggressive and street-wise lyrics in a smooth, laid-back gangster flow. While the character of “Megan” may prioritize higher academic learning and getting good grades, Tina Snow is solely focused on hustling and getting money. Meg even appeared as the character Tina Snow in a 2022 episode of the Starz series P-Valley.
Megan Has Several Other Nicknames And Alter Egos As Well
In addition to her Tina Snow moniker, Megan Thee Stallion has also formed several other nicknames throughout her years behind the mic. Some of her other nicknames are self-explanatory, such as Hot Girl Meg, while others also have deep-rooted backstories like the Tina Snow title. Other common nicknames utilized by the prolific female rapper include Suga, Htown Hottie, and simply Megan.
The Tina Snow name clearly holds a special place in Meg’s heart, however, as she uses the title for her social media handles. Ironically, many modern hip-hop heads probably know the Tina Snow title better than they know Pimp C’s discography, proving that Megan has propelled the title and sound of Houston to new heights with her massive catalog of hit tracks.
On Tuesday, January 30, TMZ reported that security had been increased at the gravesite of Megan’s late mother, Holly Thomas, after its location was shared online (reportedly by the Barbz). You would think that would be nowhere to go with this after that, but Minaj then hopped on Joe Budden’s X (formerly Twitter) Spaces on Wednesday, January 31.
HipHopDX captured portions of Minaj’s rant in the Space. It’s dizzying, to say the least, and nobody can be blamed for not comprehending a word Minaj said, but we will attempt a summary.
Minaj questioned how Megan could be “twerking two days later,” referencing when the since-convicted Tory Lanez shot Megan Thee Stallion in the feet in July 2020. “First of all, emotionally — even emotionally — you just got shot,” Minaj said while cackling, and then clumsily stumbled into “what really grinded my f*cking gears,” which was that a producer bragged on social media about “not clearing a beat for Nicki Minaj.”
That led into a complaint about YouTube bots, Twitter ads, longtime music executive Lyor Cohen, and “the paid for TikToks, the paid for tweets, to the point where people got their little $250 for they tweet to say something bad about Nicki Minaj.” TLDR: Minaj alleged “a smear campaign” against her by people who believe she’s “crazy.”
Eventually, Minaj got back to Megan Thee Stallion, comparing how she handled her trauma from Lanez shooting her versus Rihanna’s domestic violence at the hands of Chris Brown.
“Rihanna is just known for being herself,” Minaj said. “You get what you see. You see what you get, you get what you see type of vibe, right? […] That’s what we know Ri as. Rihanna never would milk something like this. Like, you could tell she couldn’t wait to get that part of her life — you could tell she couldn’t wait to just try to move on with her life. You understand?”
Minaj continued, “And then, people even bashed her for not dragging it out, not milking it. And she was just like, ‘Yo, I was mad young. We were young. I just wanna move on with my life now.’ You know why? Because Rihanna knows that she was a superstar, with or without controversy. She’s beautiful, with or without controversy. She’s loved, with or without controversy. I’m sorry — sympathy. Sympathy, sympathy, sympathy.”
but she’s the lil broke independent artist. Desiree, you gotta let it go, baby. The world knows she’s ass & can’t rap. Stop fkng trying to make fetch happen. 
