A year ago if you were to search “who is the Queen of Rap?” online, you would immediately find that the first name to pop up was Nicki Minaj, but today that answer would not be so simple. Currently, upon searching this question you will find an endless amount of articles comparing Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. Both women are extremely talented female rappers that have made history in the industry with their chart-topping, wig snatching hits. Although both women are successful, they have been unable to avoid comparisons and have been labeled “rap rivals” since Cardi B began achieving huge success after Bodak Yellow was released last year.
Their feud escalated to new levels on Friday night at the Harper’s Bazaar Icons party where, according to CBS News, “a person who witnessed the incident . . . said Minaj was finishing up a conversation with someone when Cardi B tried to attack her, but Minaj’s security guards intervened.” Many videos have circulated the web following the altercation showing the moments leading up to Cardi B’s swift exit. In the videos, you can see an upset Cardi B taking off her shoe and proceeding to throw it across the room. There are images of Cardi B leaving the event with a bump on her forehead, presumably from physical contact during the fight.
Following this incident, social media has become a storm of hashtags created by people giving their opinion on the matter. Both Nicki and Cardi have responded to the incident, continuing to put the blame on each other. Just back in October, Nicki addressed the rumors of drama between the two in a now-deleted string of tweets, saying that men in the hip-hop community are pushing hostility on female rappers. “These are men in our culture who simply refuse to let it go,” she tweeted. “They don’t do this to male M.C.’s.” The constant comparison of these women turned a rumor of beef into a real issue. By picking a side, we are contributing to the narrative that all women can’t be successful because there is only room for one at the top.
Courtesy: Complex
Now that’s not to say that we made Nicki like mean tweets about Cardi’s daughter or told Cardi to throw her shoe, but the idea that there can only be one Queen of Rap has led to this outburst. Though it is common for a rapper to be confident in their work and believe that they are the best, encouraging the attitude that there can only be one top female artist is the problem. Throughout history, the hip-hop industry has witnessed many feuds between female rappers and these are not only encouraged, but expected. However, when male rappers feud the comparison is drawn between their rhythm and flow, not their appearance and charm.
While it may seem like tweeting out your support for one of these women is not a big deal, it actually causes more harm than good. The division created between these two women is just another wall we are putting between us and gender equality. It is important that we continue to recognize the issues within our society because this is a problem that all women face. Whether you are working 40 hours a week behind a desk or spitting rhymes to a beat, we as women should not have to fight each other for recognition of our talents.
Instead of asking ourselves “Nicki or Cardi?” we should be asking “misogyny or growth?”