The Remy Ma/Nicki Minaj feud beats up and heats up
Old-school rapper Fat Joe may be the first name credited on the just-released duet album Plato O Plomo, but it's Remy Ma -- his longtime fellow Bronx bomber, pal, and collaborator from the days of the Terror Squad and its 2004 smash "Lean Back" -- who's under the red-hot spotlight with what might be the nastiest-ever dis track, "ShETHER," focused ferociously upon her decade-long rival, Nicki Minaj.
Along with having just ended her second season on VH-1's top-rated Love & Hip Hop New York series with a poignant familial touch and a Feb. 27 reunion special (no spoilers, check OnDemand), it is her furious feud this weekend with star rapper Minaj that's been blowing up social media without a sign of slowing.
"They told you your whole career I'd come home and kill you, right? Ha-ha," goes one of Ma and "ShETHER"'s tamer verses.
There has been competitiveness between Minaj and Ma going back to 2007, when Minaj debuted her first mixtapes, one of which, the Playtime Is Over mix and her freestyle "Dirty Money," contained the line "Tell that b- with the crown to run it like Chris Brown" over a beat from Terror Squad's "Yeah Yeah Yeah." That was the feud's first salvo, typical rap one-upping -- the new queen nipping at the heels of the reigning queen. There are even unsubstantiated rumors that Minaj and Ma were once lovers with the woman in this video closely resembling Minaj.
Their beef was settled in 2008, when Ma wound up serving six years in Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for aggravated assault. Minaj's rise to fame and fortune started around the same time. That's some Shakespearean drama.
Fast-forward to 2014 and Ma's release from prison. Though her initial freestyles were tinted with references to Minaj tracks such as "Monster" and "Truffle Butter," all was quiet until 2017, when Minaj restoked the feud with a Ma dis on Jason Derulo's "Swalla."
After Nicki dissed Remy for low sales with a verse on Gucci Mane's new "Make Love" single ("You see, silly rabbit / To be the queen of rap / You gotta sell / You gotta get plaques / S, plural / Like the S on my chest / Now sit your ass down / You got an 'F' on the test"), Ma returned the jab with a hard, right uppercut: "ShETHER," the meanest, maddest, bloodiest comeback track, attacking everything from Nicki's butt implants, her brother (accused of sexually molesting a child), her relationships (including with Philly's Meek Mill), and more NSFW rhymes.
Minaj's "queen of hip-hop" boast also didn't sit well with Ma, who burst out with a chilling voice on her spare track (which pays homage to Nas' "Ether," itself a renowned dis against Jay Z), letting fly with accusations that Minaj slept with Hot 97's Ebro Darden and Trey Songz, that Nicki uses ghostwriters (a rap no-no), and a warning that she has footage of Nicki snorting cocaine. The cover of "ShETHER" features a bloodied, pink-haired Barbie doll modeled after Minaj.
(It should be noted that Plato O Plomo also features the taut rap scheme "Spaghetti," with Remy coldly calling out fellow female rap contemporaries such as Minaj with "Y'all got fat while we starved / Shots in your ass, pads in your bras… yeah that crown is coming back to the Bronx.")
Don't mess with the Bronx.
Since "ShETHER"'s release, there's been little from Minaj, save for lame Instagram pictures with Beyoncé calling Minaj a rap queen and another weak glance at Ma's low albums sales, something that shouldn't last with this bout of infamy. Minaj reached out to Trey Songz on Twitter to get him to deny having sex with her (he did deny). Then there is Minaj's most recent breakup, with Mill, who apparently is so delighted by "ShETHER" he wants his photo taken with Ma.
As for Ma, she's got a second Minaj dis track, "Child's Play," coming this month, is currently touring with another Minaj enemy -- Lil Kim -- and Love & Hip Hop New York alum Cardi B, and will surely wind up a part of the Scott Storch, Fat Joe, Terror Squad set at this year's 10th annual Roots Picnic on June 3.
Stay tuned.