On June 29th during the BET Network awards telecast, the closest thing hip hop’s women’s division has to an attention grabbing headline culminated when Superstar Nicki Minaj indirectly began a feud against rising star Iggy Azalea.
Per the he-said-she-said, Minaj has accused Azalea of not paying homage to the hit-making women that came before her (how do you do such a thing to please everyone?), while Azalea has largely avoided cat-fighting and focused on her music.
It is pretty obvious that the Cash Money Records crew put Minaj up to it, but creating a feud based on “not shouting out Minaj and etc during every interview/speech/awards show/performance” doesn’t continue to mask the real problem: the lack of excitement in women’s hip hop.
Why doesn’t Minaj just watch her recent statements and appearances once in a while and see how she is constantly sabotaging and undermining everyone?
So it looks like if Azalea is going to get any justice, she’s going to have to do it simply by side-stepping this war of words and continuing on as if no jabs were thrown at her.
While it isn’t the most high-profile war of words between hip hop divas — nor should it be — Minaj vs. Azalea still has the potential to help fans take notice of the genre’s marginalized women’s presence.
For one thing, fans are desperate to see Azalea get her comeuppance. Since she replaced running the streets with marginal street rapper A$AP Rocky for greener pastures with “Fancy,” she’s become one of the genre’s rising artists.
Her status as an Australian-born rapper with a Southern-style accent have only intensified the fans’ fascination with her.
So, with all this in mind, wouldn’t it be fitting if the underrated Azalea, who has arguably worked to earn her place more than anyone, trump Minaj as the Queen Diva of Hip Hop? It would serve as a nice, feel-good moment for the genre, if nothing else.
Sure, Azalea is still a few hits away from that feat and some of her interviews have descended into complete debacles.
But a war of words with Minaj, an extremely talented rapper when motivated, should be able to carry her to something decent.
Of course, all of this will likely be hindered by the lack of attention most women’s oriented news and presence in hip hop generates (plus not to mention the lack of hits from Azalea’s end – she still needs to release 3 consistent hit records). Once again, the girls may try their very best to bring some much needed attention to the sisterhood, but will be let down by the fans’ indifference.
In summation, Nicki Minaj vs. Iggy Azalea probably won’t be the feud that turns the women’s side of the genre around — at this point the genre is in such a state that it’s possible nothing can — but don’t be too surprised if the duo manage to churn out a couple of noteworthy musical jabs aka “diss” records.
Provided they get enough attention, of course.