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Nicki Minaj Has Beef With So Many People. Here Are Just A Few – Nicki Swift

When people look back on who was responsible for helping today’s female rappers flourish, Nicki Minaj’s name will certainly come up. And before she made a name for herself in the music world, a bevy of successful female rappers — such as Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, and Monie Love — paved the way for future generations. 

Many have already given Minaj credit for helping to change things since she was the first female rapper in some time to have chart-topping success after a long drought. But many have also taken issue with her many, many beefs. 

Whether it was one of her fellow artists, a journalist who interviewed her, or an ex, Minaj has shown that she won’t back away from a verbal dispute and has no problem defending herself when feeling picked on or wrongfully accused of something. Remember when she got into it with Taylor Swift before things were quickly resolved? While Minaj and Swift put their drama aside and teamed up for a 2015 VMAs performance, the same cannot be said about Minaj’s other feuds. Here are just a few of the people that Nicki Minaj has beefed with over the years.

Cardi B could be considered Nicki’s biggest enemy

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Let’s just start with the person who could be considered Nicki Minaj’s arch-enemy: Cardi B. At first, the two seemed to be friendly and supportive of one another, and they even joined forces on the Migos song “Motorsport” in 2017. Cardi eventually spoke about the song with Capital Xtra, saying that Minaj’s verse wasn’t on it when she heard it, which bothered “The Pinkprint” creator. Minaj then addressed those comments during an interview with Beat 1’s Zane Lowe, saying that Cardi looked annoyed when talking about “Motorsport.”

Afterward, Minaj and Cardi were seen hashing things out at the 2018 Met Gala. Alas, the apparent treaty didn’t stick: Cardi tried to fight the “Anaconda” artist a few months later at a party for New York Fashion Week. Based on Cardi’s words during the incident, she believed that Minaj said something about her child. Though the Bronx rapper was restrained before she could make physical contact, she did launch a shoe at Minaj. 

According to TMZ, Cardi ended up with a ping pong ball-sized lump on her forehead after she took a security guard’s elbow to the face. And as of this writing, they don’t seem to be exactly chummy. Minaj’s fans also have a history of ripping Cardi online, and vice versa. 

Megan Thee Stallion might’ve inspired a diss track

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Just like Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion collaborated with Nicki Minaj before it seemed like their relationship went south. They worked together on the 2019 song “Hot Girl Summer,” but questions regarding their dynamic arose when Minaj dropped “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” in 2023. In one part of the track, Minaj raps, “That .40 cal a make ’em dance like a go-go.” This line may or may not be a reference to Tory Lanez, who was found guilty of shooting Megan in the foot in 2020. In another part of the song, Minaj says that she isn’t a fan of horses, and fans suspect the line is actually a diss directed at Megan Thee Stallion. The New York rapper then singled out the horse line while playing at Rolling Loud California in March 2023. 

If this is indeed a diss against Megan, we have to wonder what went wrong between “Hot Girl Summer” and “Red Ruby Da Sleeze.” Only the two women know for sure, but it could have something to do with Megan working with Cardi B on the 2020 single “Wap.” Minaj could’ve easily felt betrayed by Megan on some level but that’s pure conjecture, of course.

Latto leaked a heated phone call

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One morning in October of 2022, many woke up to the news that Nicki Minaj and Atlanta rapper Latto were arguing online, which had to do with the Grammy Awards. At the time, Minaj thought it was wrong that her song “Super Freaky Girl” wasn’t allowed in the rap category like Latto’s “Big Energy” and was put into the pop slot instead. A Twitter fight eventually broke out and Latto called the “Pills N Potions” rapper a bully, while also saying she’s older than her mother. “I’ve ignored countless subtweets since March and instead addressed u in the dm,” wrote Latto in one of her messages. “You’re asking why I didn’t speak up in ur defense… it’s the same answer I gave u when u asked why I didn’t congratulate you.” Minaj shot back by criticizing Latto’s looks. 

Latto then leaked a phone call that she had with Minaj and defended comments she made in an interview about Minaj no longer being the sole successful female rapper. Minaj took offense to that interview and called Latto “delusional.” “It’s delusional to say that other girls are flourishing?” Latto shot back. “I never said you’re no longer running s**t. I said that there are other females flourishing. What is the problem with that?” 

Mariah Carey said she was threatened

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In 2012 Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey both signed on to be judges on “American Idol,” but the set wasn’t big enough for their beef. Right away there were reports of bickering between the two women, but Carey denied it in a press conference.

A couple of weeks later, however, TMZ shared a video of Minaj yelling at the “Fantasy” singer. In her E! series “Nicki Minaj: My Truth,” Minaj claimed that Carey had a problem with her from the beginning. “[Mariah Carey] admitted she did not want another female doing the show. Thinking someone’s coming to steal her shine,” said the rapper. Minaj spoke about the fight on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” as well, saying she felt a shady vibe from the famous songbird as soon as she got on the show. Following her stint on “American Idol,” Carey told Barbara Walters that she hired extra security because Minaj said she’d shoot her if she had a gun. Minaj denied the allegation on Twitter and she blasted Walters for the interview.

In 2015, Carey reflected on her time on “Idol” on the “Kyle & Jackie O” show. She told the hosts that the feud was “nonexistent” at the beginning and the drama took away from the contestants. “I’m not going to get into what it was, but let’s just say I don’t think they had any intentions for us to have a good experience doing that show,” she said. “Pitting two females against each other wasn’t cool.”

City Girls got her attention with some old tweets

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There was a time when Nicki Minaj didn’t seem to care for the Florida rap group City Girls, but only because they dissed her in some old tweets that resurfaced in 2021. In one message, City Girls rapper JT said she hopes that Cardi B defeats Minaj in their beef. Meanwhile, Yung Miami claimed that Minaj blocked her on social media for the diss.

Though the group has expressed interest in working with Minaj, there was a time that collab seemed less than likely. In 2022, Minaj told “The Morning Hustle” radio show that she was reluctant to collaborate with them. “Whenever you post something on the internet, it’s there forever. Whenever you say something in an interview, it’s there forever,” she explained. 

“So, as an artist and a human being first … if I, as just a regular human, was about to go to dinner with you tonight and then I get something that says, ‘Yo, she don’t really f**k with you like that … she don’t really like you, I’m not gonna go out to dinner with you anymore,” added Minaj. But the rapper later said she and the City Girls settled their differences and all was OK. “Just had a great convo with @ThegirlJT & @YungMiami305,” she tweeted. “Let’s move on & make new memories y’all.”

Meek Mill feuded after their split

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For a while there, Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj were rap’s “it” couple. That ended after Minaj announced their split on Twitter in January 2017. And let’s just say they were far from friends afterward. It was just the opposite, in fact, because the rappers threw all kinds of shots at each other on social media. The back-and-forth had a lot to do with Kenneth Petty, who married Minaj in 2019. Then in January of the following year, both men ran into each other at the store Maxfield in Hollywood, and according to TMZ, a screaming match ensued. Minaj was there as well, which led to the Twitter argument that she had with Mill afterward.

In short, Minaj said that her ex was scared of her husband at the store. She also accused Mill of being abusive during their time together, a claim the Philly rapper seemed to deny. Plus, he brought up Minaj’s brother, Jelani Maraj, being convicted of predatory sexual assault in 2017. Things got really ugly between Minaj and Mill before all was said and done, that’s for sure.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

Lil’ Kim has had beef with Nicki Minaj forever

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The beef between Nicki Minaj and Lil’ Kim has seemed to go on forever. Based on Kim’s account, it has to do with the label Cash Money Records. When the “Hard Core” rapper spoke with New York radio host Angie Martinez about the beef in 2010, she suggested that Minaj ruined her opportunity to sign with the label. Kim accused Minaj of hijacking her style as well and spoke of the rappers’ failed collaboration track “Everywhere We Go,” which she said Cash Money pulled from iTunes because Minaj’s part wasn’t up to snuff. “If you are going to steal my swag, you gonna have to pay. Something’s gotta give,” Kim said about Minaj during the interview, per BallerStatus.com.

There were shots sent between the ladies in songs as well, like Minaj’s “Roman’s Revenge” where she was accused of calling Kim a has-been. The Junior M.A.F.I.A. member responded on her cut “Black Friday” and called her longtime foe a clone while threatening violence. Minaj also spoke to Martinez about the feud and said Kim is nothing but a “sore loser.” 

But who knows, maybe these two will put their beef aside one day and duke it out on the mic. At the 2021 BET Awards, Kim said she’d be willing to face Minaj in the friendly music series “Verzuz.” 

Laura Saltman questioned her professionalism

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In journalism, one is supposed to be objective and not choose sides, right? That could be why Nicki Minaj and her fans became extremely angry at former Access Hollywood reporter Laura Saltman in 2013. The entertainment reporter-turned-wellness coach tried to speak to Minaj about her beef with Mariah Carey backstage at “American Idol” but the rapper walked away from her. So, Saltman blasted her, while seemingly siding with Carey.

“Nicki and Mariah’s not-so-charming banter has included Nicki calling Mariah ‘sir’ two weeks ago after a spat and Wednesday night referring to her as ‘Honey Boo Boo’ as a final slam,” Saltman wrote on her blog, according to Urban Magazine. “For the record, Mariah never heard Nicki’s ‘sir’ comment until after the show aired,” she continued. “When asked about it backstage, she wanted to respond but her publicist smartly told her not to. You see, Mariah is a professional who understands her reputation is everything. She has class. Nicki is another story.” 

Minaj responded in a series of tweets, telling Saltman to get a life because she shouldn’t be that upset about a celebrity walking away from her. Unfortunately, however, some of the rapper’s fans threatened Saltman with violence. “Extra” host Billy Bush jumped into the beef as well, calling Minaj angry and unprofessional.

Remy Ma released the diss song Shether

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When Bronx rapper Remy Ma was a guest on Hot 97 in 2014, she spoke highly of Nicki Minaj, calling her a wonderful woman and saying that she was proud of her success. But later, there were rumors of a beef between them. From the outside looking in, it was based on competition and who was the queen of rap.

That seemed to be confirmed in 2017 when many thought Minaj took a shot at Remy in her verse on the Gucci Mane song “Make Love”: “Oooohhh, oh you the queen of this here? / One platinum plaque, album flopped, b***h, where?” Remy responded shortly after with “Shether,” a scathing diss track filled with vicious insults, accusations, and personal attacks.

Now, it took some time for Minaj to respond, but she did with three songs: “No Frauds,” featuring Drake and Lil Wayne; “Regret in Your Tears”; and “Changed It,” also featuring Lil Wayne. “You got 72 hours to drop a hit and I’ll give you half a million dollars if you can book any show or interview without mentioning the Queen name,” wrote Minaj in a now-deleted message.

Miley Cyrus was called out at the VMAs

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Miley Cyrus probably regrets weighing in on Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift’s Twitter interaction ahead of the 2015 VMAs Video of the Year nominees. After the noms were announced, Minaj expressed her frustrations regarding the industry, pointing out that white and thin women are often favored. Swift assumed this was directed at her, but after some back and forth, Swift apologized for her misunderstanding.

While speaking with the The New York Times ahead of the award show, Cyrus criticized Minaj’s reaction to the nominations, calling her comments rude. “You don’t have to start this pop star against pop star war,” she said. “It became Nicki Minaj and Taylor in a fight, so now the story isn’t even on what you wanted it to be about. Now you’ve just given E! News ‘Catfight! Taylor and Nicki Go at It.'”

When Minaj won Best Hip Hop Video at the MTV Video Music Awards a few days later, she had something to say to the former Disney Channel star, who was hosting the event. “And now back to this b***h that had a lot to say about me the other day in the press. Miley, what’s good?” said the New York native. “Hey, we’re all in this industry. We all do interviews and we all know how they manipulate s**t,” Cyrus responded. Minaj can be seen mouthing the words “don’t play with me” afterward and that was that. 

Safaree Samuels filed a lawsuit

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Nicki Minaj and Safaree Samuels were together for 12 years before they split in 2014. Samuels often appeared onstage and in videos with the “Starships” performer as her hype man. The couple had a bad breakup, however, and Samuels released a song titled “Lifeline” where he claimed to have written many of the songs on Minaj’s “The Pinkprint” album. Samuels also said he was happy to be free from Minaj and compared himself to a character in the film “12 Years a Slave.”

Minaj addressed the ghostwriting claim onstage during a concert, rattling off a bunch of curse-filled insults and saying that her ex could never pen her lyrics. Plus, the “Pink Friday” rapper blasted Samuels in 2016 when he sued her for album profits. “Two years later this poor excuse of a man is suing me & claiming to have been physically & emotionally abused. Lol. He’s so miserable,” Minaj tweeted. “You can’t even celebrate your happiness anymore w/o being victimized. Miserable ppl refuse to move on w/their lives,” she added. As Samuels told Rap-Up, he ultimately decided to drop the lawsuit. “I’d started a process and then I was like, ‘It is what it is. If you want to deal with it like that, go ahead. I ain’t trippin’,'” he said. 

Nicki Minaj didn’t like Farrah Abraham’s behavior on TV

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One day in 2016, Nicki Minaj had some downtime, so she decided to unwind with some episodes of “Teen Mom OG.” While watching, she found herself to be more than taken aback at how Farrah Abraham spoke to her mother, Debra Danielsen. Throughout the show, the reality star was seen screaming and insulting her mom, and evidently, Minaj couldn’t take it. So, she took to Twitter and called Abraham a vicious name. “Your mother didn’t open her legs and have that child. Be happy she’s helping! Stop talking to her like that on tv,” the rapper wrote in another post.

The former “16 and Pregnant” star shot back. “Cause your a parent right? Your videos look like porn,” wrote Abraham, who has worked pornography. “Horrible good luck being negative #Godbless busy making TV,” she added. In response, the Young Money member corrected Abraham’s spelling, telling her to learn the difference between “you’re” & “your,” while calling her a “dingbat” as well.

She called Kanye West a ‘clown’

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Kanye West’s song “Monster” gave Nicki Minaj another level of fame and had a lot of people buzzing about the then-up-and-coming rapper even more. So, it was probably no surprise to those who attended the Essence Festival in 2022 that she decided to perform the cut. But they were probably caught off guard when she dissed West right after and called him a “clown.”

So, what was behind the insult, you ask? It could be that West worked with Cardi B on the song “Hot S**t,” which was released on the heels of that Essence Festival performance. Another theory is that Minaj never forgave the Chicago producer for not releasing their 2019 cut “New Body.”

And theory number three is that Minaj was apparently angry at West for refusing to collaborate with her on his clothing line, something she revealed a few months before the Essence Festival diss. As she told podcaster Joe Budden in 2022, “He was like, ‘Well, if I did something with you … my wife probably wouldn’t love that idea because I should be giving that to my wife instead. If I was doing a female version of the Yeezys or whatever, it would probably should go to my wife.'”

LisaRaye McCoy told Nicki Minaj to ‘bow down’

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In the music world, many believe it’s important to respect the artists who came before you — especially the artists who played a role in shaping the genre. Actor LisaRaye McCoy sure seems to hold that school of thought. “We can all stand together queens and say that all of us are acknowledging the fact that Lil’ Kim came before Nicki Minaj so Nicki just take a seat,” she said on “Out Loud With Claudia Jordan” in 2020. “You don’t have to sit down for long but just take a bow. Just like Beyoncé said, ‘Bow down b*****s.'”

Minaj responded on “Trollz,” her song with ostracized rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine. “Dollar Bill come get her / Even your man know Nicki do it better / I know you don’t like me, you wanna fight me /Always on my page, never double-tap, like me,” she rapped, referencing McCoy’s character in the 1998 film “The Players Club.” 

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Minaj’s fans also got involved and ripped McCoy online, which the actor talked about during an interview on “The Breakfast Club.” “Maybe about 25 comments in, I was like, ‘I don’t give a damn about this,’ ’cause I don’t,” McCoy said. And though her remarks about Minaj brought in a lot of unwanted attention on social media, she stood by her original statement.