Days after that volcanic showdown between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B at New York Fashion Week, celebrity friends of the two rappers have been swept up in the aftermath, forging alliances and drawing battle lines in this starry war.
The likes of supermodel Adriana Lima and Hailey Baldwin have already jumped aboard the Team Bardie train, while Team Minaj has found a sympathetic ear with 50 Cent, Vanessa Hudgens and Azealia Banks; although, we’re still on the fence whether Banks actually supports Minaj or just hates Cardi B.
In a video that dropped shortly after the brawl at the Harper’s Bazaar Icons party that saw Minaj facing the end of Cardi B’s flying stiletto and the Bodak Yellow rapper leaving the event with a bump on her head, Banks made her stance clear.
“She doesn’t understand the rules of black female etiquette. She doesn’t understand that black women in 2018, we fight with our words and not with our hands,” the 27-year-old musician said, speaking about Cardi B.
Team Bardie also took another hit when Minaj also broke her silence on the Apple Music radio show, Queen, calling the whole incident “mortifying.”
“The other night I was part of something so mortifying and so humiliating to go through in front of a bunch upper echelon… people who have their life together,” Minaj said. “I could not believe how humiliated it all felt.”
She also refuted the accusation that she spoke ill of Cardi B’s daughter Kulture, which reportedly was the root cause of the altercation. “I just want people to know that Onika Tanya Maraj has never, will never… speak ill on anyone’s child,” Minaj said, referring to her real name.
Earlier, Cardi B had presented her side of the story, writing a lengthy tale of turmoil in an Instagram post, without actually naming Minaj, but leaving little room for doubt.
She wrote: “I’ve let a lot of [expletive] slide! I let you sneak diss me, I let you lie on me, I let you attempt to stop my bags, [expletive] up the way I eat! You’ve threatened other artists in the industry, told them if they work with me you’ll stop [expletive] with them!”
“But when you mention my child, you choose to like comments about me as a mother, make comments about my abilities to take care of my daughter is when all bets are [expletive] off!! I’ve worked too hard and come too far to let anybody [expletive] with my success!” she added
The note also addressed the long-running feud between two stars, with Cardi B’s irritation not an isolated incident. “I addressed you once in person, I addressed you a second time in person, and every time you copped the plea!” she wrote.
Stories of sharpened digs and catty comments between the duo has long been grabbing headlines. So where is this coming from, you ask? We hit rewind on this spat to look at the origins of one of the most memorable brawls in recent memory.
The beginning
The first signs of tension brewing between the duo was spotted back in March last year, when Minaj appeared to like someone’s comment dissing Cardi B’s rap verses as ‘Dumb [expletive] bars’. Whether this was truly a Minaj declaration of war or a case of fake news with someone fuelling this fire is anyone’s guess.
Things came to a head in May last year when Katy Perry released her collaborative track Swish Swish with Minaj. The 35-year-old rapper stood upon this hill to wage a battle against Cardi B with a dig at her husband Offset in specific lyric saying: “Silly rap beefs just get me more checks. My life is a movie, I’m never off set. Me and my amigos (no, not Offset).”
The jab didn’t sit well with Cardi B who lashed out on Instagram Live at the time to dish on “fake” people in the industry, saying: “When I used to be a regular [expletive] from The Bronx when somebody used to be fake to me it was cool because I could approach and punch her.”
The trouble continued
In August that same year, Minaj featured on the track No Flag with 21 Savage and Offset. Needless to say, her verse said her own story as she rapped: “I heard these labels are trying to make another me / Everything you’re getting… is because of me.”
Many believed Minaj was hinting at Cardi B with those lyrics, but the Barbie Dreams singer denied the claim on Twitter. The claws would come out once again when both Cardi B and Minaj appeared on Migos’ track, Motorsport, featuring Offset.
After a tweet blasting Cardi B on the track, Minaj complained she didn’t earn the respect and recognition she deserved.
In an interview with Zane Lowe from Beats 1, Minaj addressed the feud, stating: “The only thing with Cardi that really, really, really hurt my feelings was the first interview she did after Motorsport came out. I remember when I first came in the game, if a female of that stature had done a feature with me on it, I would only be, you know, singing their praises and saying thank you. The first interview she did after Motorsport came out, it just really hurt me.”
Calm before the storm
After that outburst, things appeared to calm down in the lead up to the Met Gala in May, with a then pregnant Cardi B sharing relatively ‘warm moments’ with Minaj. Bardie later addressed rumours of the feud between the two rappers with talk show host Howard Stern, saying: “I never was feuding with anybody; there was a misunderstanding. I think she felt a certain type of way about something. I definitely felt a certain type of way about something. My feelings was really hurt.”
All appeared quiet on the Minaj vs Cardi B front until that fateful event at New York Fashion Week until the I Like It singer took it upon herself to question Minaj on comments she made that reportedly doubted her abilities as a mother to baby Kulture. What transpired next was for all the world to see.
We reckon this drama is only the beginning.
