Nicki Minaj is beefing with a fellow artist on Twitter, again. This time, the”Anaconda” rapper is going back and forth with “Big Energy” musician Latto.
The exchange on Twitter began with Minaj reacting late Thursday to theRecording Academy’s decision to challenge her intentions to submit hit “SuperFreaky Girl” for rap nominations at the 2023 Grammys. The Recording Academy’srap committee decided that the song should instead vie for a pop soloperformance nomination, despite her song topping Billboard’s Hot Rap Songschart since it dropped in August.
Minaj wasn’t expecting the pivot to pop. At the Grammy Awards, a majority ofMinaj’s nominations have been for rap categories, from her first nod in 2011for Ludacris collaboration “My Chick Bad” to her 2016 rap album nomination for”The Pinkprint.”
“They stay moving the goalposts when it comes to me…in order for them touplift the people who they want to shine,” she said in a 16-minute videoposted on Instagram on Thursday.
While speaking out about the Grammys’ decision on Instagram, Minaj latchedonto Latto’s hit song “Big Energy,” suggesting that it also should be moved tothe same category as “Super Freaky Girl.”
“If you can’t tell by now, there is a concerted effort to give newer artiststhings that they really don’t deserve over people who have been deserving formany years,” Minaj continued.
Minaj then expressed concern for the Grammys voting process, when voters mighthave to decide whether to choose between her and the likes of Harry Styles orAdele, who have both taken home pop Grammys. She later echoed her grievanceson Twitter, still mentioning Latto.
“I have no prob being moved out of the RAP category as long as we r ALL beingtreated FAIRLY,” Minaj tweeted Thursday evening. “If [“Super Freaky Girl”] has2B moved out of RAP then so does Big Energy!”
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Like clockwork, Minaj’s devoted fans supported her tweet and pulled up thereceipts of Latto seemingly calling “Big Energy” a pop song. “Yikes,” Minajreplied to a fan’s tweet. The rapperthen noted that her 2015 record “Anaconda,” which is similar to “Super FreakyGirl,” was nominated for the rap song Grammy in 2016.
Minaj continued,tweetingthat the Grammys pivot is “no diff from a 9-5 where you should speak up foryourself if you know you’re a great employee & continue to be purposelysabotaged.”
After seeing Minaj’s not-so-subtle nod, Latto tweeted “all these awards/nomsI can’t evencelebrate,” and beganfiring back at the musician. Latto said she reached out to Minaj via textbefore taking their feud toTwitter. She said sheagrees with Minaj’s points about fairness, but added “the way you going aboutit seems malicious.”
Latto said Thursday wasn’t the first time she’s avoided “subtweets” from the”Super Bass” rapper and called Minaj a “bully.” As Thursday evening went on,Latto shared hercollection ofscreenshots of Minajfans seemingly facing criticism from Minaj for even mentioning the “BigEnergy” singer.
Replying to a since-deleted tweet from Minaj, Latto said that the rap veteranwas “my dream collab.”
“Like I told you otp I looked up to you … you still never answered my questionabout where the random shade starting coming from,” lattotweetedsharingscreenshots of a private conversation she had with Minaj.
On Thursday night, Latto said that the tweets between her and Minaj were nolonger “JUST about a Grammycategory,” but insteadabout the tension between her and Minaj, who allegedly said she’s not”flourishing” and no one cares about her “little song.”
Latto tweeted late into the night, bringing up Minaj’s marriage to KennethPetty (who was committed) of attempted rape in 1995 and recordings of aheated phoneconversation with therapper.
Days before the Grammys-prompted conflict between the two rappers, Latto toldThe Times that she feels women in rap are in the spotlight.
“I feel like later on, years from now, we’re gonna look at this time forfemale rap and be like, ‘Wow, this was like a special moment. We all gotdifferent styles, we all look different, we’re all from different cities andwe’re all thriving at the same time.’”
Minaj is known for speaking out. In September she filed a $75,000 defamationlawsuit against gossip blogger “Nosey Heaux” for her comments about Minaj andher family. Minaj alleged that Marley Green, the personality behind “NoseyHeaux,” claimed the rapper was “shoving all this cocaine up her nose” and madecrass remarks about her 1-year-old son.
Minaj alleged in the lawsuit and on Twitter that Green is working for anotherfemale rapper with intentions to boost that unidentified rapper’s career.
“Now let’s hope the ppl you guys r doing all this dirty work for love youenough to hire top notch lawyers for you & to pay your bills once I own yourblogs, your shows, those IG pages y’all tried to protect so bad ,” Minajtweeted. “Coupleartists in the folder too. I’ll own your publishing. Duds.”