Nicki versus Remy... The HairyKat Opinion

So we're just going to ignore that I haven't blogged in a year and a half and just dive right in.... Just kidding. That would be rude of me to not say hello before writing my opinion on such a hot topic.  Hello readers. I hope everyone's 2016 was awesome and 2017 is going even more amazing.

So I assumed that this beef between Nick and Remy had died down a little  but it  came back to life this past weekend during the 2017 BET Awards. This past Sunday, Remy Ma broke Nicki Minaj's 7 year winning streak for Best Female Rap Artist. But has the Queen really been Dethroned?

In case you've been living under a rock, I'll enlighten you on the fact that Nicki Minaj and Remy Ma are seemingly no longer on friendly terms. While it looked as if it was all love between the two since Remy's release from prison, It seems as if Remy had been feeling slighted by Nicki and things took an ugly turn.

While Nicki, according to our hip-hop head assumptions, threw subliminal shade at Remy on the  track with Gucci Mane titled Make Love, Remy felt no love from Nicki's verse and dropped Shether, a direct annihilation of all things Nicki Minaj (GASP...too far...that was really dramatic...but you get the point).

Shether made everyone's headspin, leaving everyone to believe that Remy was the new hip hop queen, especially because Nicki remained silent for weeks before dropping No Frauds featuring Lil Wayne and Drake. (We're going to ignore Remy's second diss track title Another One...😒)

Now that you're all caught up, I decided to chime in on my take on this whole beef. Is rap beef old, absolutely not. There was Jay-Z versus Nas, Jadakiss versus Beanie Siegel, Tupac vs. Biggie, Tupac versus the Entire East Coast, to name a few; so in a way it's actually pretty exciting to hear two female rappers go at it from a hip-hop culture perspective. However, I stand pretty disappointed that while male rappers can co-exist in the industry and have camaraderie, we only really get to have one successful female rapper at a time (but I'll save my soapbox moments about sisterhood for another post)! Anywho, all over social media there's Team Nicki and Team Remy and who's winning and who's losing so here's my take on it all.

#TeamNicki - Remy in her current status cannot compete with the brand that is Nicki Minaj point, blank, period.  While Nicki has reigned superior over the best female rapper category for years, she's more than music. She's makeup, fashion, culture, liquor, fragrances, I mean endorsements growing out of those buns of hers. Nicki has been very strategic and creating a lane for herself in not being pigeon holed into making rap/hip-hop music, but she also has pop records that has made her a worldwide commercial artist. Is she an amazing rapper...eeh (insert Kanye Shrug)...She makes hits! She rides on billboard! She's a great entertainer. Her fanbase runs deep! Despite how or what I think of her lyrical abilities (not a hater, I own her entire discography), she's a global superstar and an inspirational and reputable business woman. That's an automatic win for her despite what Lil Kim or anyone else has been saying about her for years! Style stolen or not, fake butt or not, she will win every single time. Just ask Ms. Ellen.

#TeamRemy - With Nicki Minaj being a trained entertainer, as a lyriscist, she could never touch Remy. Remy is a lyricist. Remy is hip-hop. Remy is the streets. Her time away delayed her opportunity to reach Nicki Minaj stardom, but she came home hungry. Right out the gate, she joined the Love and Hip Hop brand, making sure true hip-hop fans didn't forget her and her talent while securing a bag or two. Remy is a beast, point blank, hands down. Remy as a lyricist is what early Nicki, mixtape Nicki had potential to be, lyrically (not musically, there's a difference).  I think the world recognizes that. I think BET recognized that, and that is why she won best female artist for 2017...I actually don't know what the accolades are for winning the award but I think Shether is what did it for Debra Lee and friends.

If we break this beef down by song, by lyrics, by what is hip-hop culture, what is a battle, Remy Ma wins hands down every SINGLE time (even with that 2nd diss track); buuuuuuuuut, if we're talking marketing and branding and commercial artistry, and making music, and hit records Nicki will win every time. I could be wrong, but I feel like Remy Ma will always be compartmentalized into a box that won't allow her to have the same global notoriety that Nicki has. Remy doesn't appeal to the masses in the way that Nicki does. Is Remy doing numbers, yes, Nicki Minaj numbers not so much....In the entertainment industry talent seems to be going further down the list. It's more of, do you have or are you a brand, how many social media followers, can you push this product and I'm not  talking fit tummy tea and teeth whiteners either!

With that in mind, when it comes to these diss tracks and nothing else. I'm sorry, but there is no team Nicki. I feel like Nicki cowered in her response to Remy because, one  she took to long  and two she had features on the track (and the video, come on Rah!) which is a no-no in the realm of rap beef/battles, but while Remy made Shether a hot track, Nicki made No Frauds a hot song, a commercial success, and that is seemingly winning, until you listen to Remy lyrically obliterate Nicki!


Are you #TeamNicki or #TeamRemy ?

Just as a head's up. The HairyKat Chronicles is back. I'll be blogging again, so subscribe and tell a friend!


*Disclaimer - I do not own the music or videos posted below. They are only used as reference to the songs mentioned in this blog post.

Gucci Mane ft. Nicki Minaj - Fake Love

Shether - Remy Ma

Nick Minaj ft. Drake and Lil Wayne - No Frauds

Remy Ma's Acceptance Speech