For the past week or so, one of the biggest stories in Hip-Hop has been Lil’ Kim’s war of words (and wigs) with Young Money leading lady, Nicki Minaj. What started as a YouTube clip of Kim and Ray J throwing obvious subliminal shots has turned into a topic debated across the Internet. And even a fake Twitter page of the “Queen Bee.”
Many are shocked by Kim’s actions. They seemingly appeared out of nowhere and did not appear to be provoked. The main basis for her actions centered around respect and how Minaj should “pay homage.” It is apparent to see that while Nicki doesn’t overly praise Kim at ever moment, her mannerisms and on-the-mic personality at least shadow that of the former Junior Mafia rapper. She even expressed appreciation for “all female rappers” who came before her in a past interview.
Putting it nicely, the female landscape has been bleak for years. Kim seemingly became more fixated on plastic surgeries and dancing with stars than music in recent times. Female rappers came and went and many considered the subgenre all but dead. With Nicki Minaj, like it or not, she has breathed air into the mainstream public anticipation for femcees. She is filling the void left by artists like Remy Ma, Shawnna, Foxy Brown and, most importantly, Lil Kim. Bottom line, she has people talking again.
In an industry which is dominated by males, it begs the question: will female rappers ever get along long enough to make an impact? This is not the first occasion of bad blood. Kim and Foxy have had never truly seen eye-to-eye. Remy openly vented her beef with Kim and Foxy. Jacki-O had problems with Foxy as well. So Kim v. Nicki isn’t exactly anything new, rather a depressing and continuing trend.
For now, Kim continues to take the lead in this situation while Minaj attempts to ignore it all. The reality of the situation is simple. Seeing a future Lil Kim and Minaj collaboration is likely out of the question. If it did, there would be a firestorm of controversy behind its authenticity. That’s sad, too. There’s a lot more money to be made performing together than it is practicing the “crabs in a bucket” mindset.
