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Jason Lee, publisher of Hollywood Unlocked, told Insider that the feud between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B’s respective teams is detrimental to hip-hop.
In an interview with Insider, he remarked of rappers feuding on Twitter, “I think it’s terrible for hip hop and I think it’s terrible for women.”
Cardi B. and Nicki Minaj have reignited their long-running feud, and the new guard of rap is taking sides.
Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, and Jeremy Scott attended the 2018 Met Gala.
Kevin Mazur/MG18/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. each have smash songs in rotation that feature popular newcomers.
The dynamic chart-toppers, however, are shrouded in controversy because to their social media disputes.
This is largely a matter of lyrics and assumed drama. Fans believe Cardi B. dissed the City Girls, who are currently in Nicki Minaj’s camp, in her song “Tomorrow 2,” which also featured rapper GloRilli. Fans saw Nicki Minaj’s inclusion of JT, BIA, Katie Got Bandz, Akbar V, and Maliibu Miitch on her remix of “Super Freaky Girls” as a “pledge of devotion” to her over Cardi.
To those paying close attention to the punches, featured tracks, and shifting allegiances, it appears as though a full-scale battle is being waged.
Lee, a culture critic and one of the biggest voices on Black Twitter, linked contemporary hip-hop behavior to that of prior times.
Using the access he earned by launching the entertainment website Hollywood Unlocked, Lee has regularly settled disputes and mediated dialogues. He frequently does interviews with up-and-coming singers and was Cardi B’s biggest booster in her early career.
While interacting with celebrities, he told Insider that he is not scared to criticize their decisions.
Lee told Insider, “I’m neither a journalist nor a blogger; I’m a culture critic.” “I criticize culture, promote culture, and identify both its positive and negative aspects.”
“I am 45 years old, and I grew up in the age of Queen Latifah, little Kim MC Light, Yoyo all, Missy Elliot — Foxy Brown, and Lil Kim; yet, even while they were doing their thing, it was never like this,” he said.
Since the heyday of Foxy Brown and Lil’ Kim covertly dissing each other in the studio, rap has been saturated by women who are unafraid to call each other out in songs and on social media.
“It’s all rubbish,” remarked Lee. “It’s unfortunate because it makes hip-hop appear to be nothing more than a petty, piss-taking contest, when all women should focus on their own success and pleasure.”
This year, Nicki Minaj was the first female solo performer to headline the Rolling Loud music festival in her native New York.
Image courtesy of Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Fans have significantly contributed to the feuds.
To fan the fires, fan pages across multiple platforms have dug out past interviews. Each discovered Twitter message and YouTube interview generates additional public debate. Maliibu Miitch, for example, was constantly tagged in posts in which it was implied that she would be the next to be dissed. She responded by insulting Cardi B. and suggesting that they remove their remarks from the Internet.
Cardi B. later clarified that she was in the Bronx for chicken stew from her aunt and was not there to hurl anything but well-seasoned neckbones.
“Social media amplifies everything so that you can obtain knowledge extremely quickly, and then everyone leaps into action,” Lee added.
“I simply find it offensive,” he added.
Historically, women in hip-hop were relegated to the “first lady” position, where they need a man’s endorsement to flourish. Currently, they are dominating the charts, but the so-called “catfights” can garner more attention than their actual work.
“Women have labored hard to be included in the conversation as a participant rather than a competitor; they are now on equal footing with males. It’s not men vs women; women are currently leading in hip-hop “He proceeded.
Akbar is a well-known rapper in his region.
Paramount Pictures/Getty Images for BET
These feuds can increase the fame of artists, but they can also be restricting.
Lee expressed concern that Akbar, the “Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta” star, had not yet entered the public conversation, and that these feuds could be detrimental to her career.
“Akbar has never been on a nationwide tour,” he noted.
Akbar recently attacked Cardi B. in a series of tweets that questioned the veracity of her single’s statistics and implied that her husband Offset was not as tough as he portrayed. Following the conversation, her Twitter account was suspended. This prevented her from communicating with her fans and promoting her concerts on the platform.
“I know Akbar, but she spent an entire day arguing with a girl who was minding her own business and dealing with her children and album for the sake of talking, and then she lost her entire Twitter account,” he remarked.
JT and Cardi B engaged in a Twitter feud. Given JT’s continuously expanding fan base, it seems doubtful that the incident would derail his career.
Image credit: Katja Ogrin/Redferns
Occasionally, though, it is effective. When JT and Cardi B. exchanged insults on Twitter, she gained greater visibility. The City Girls rapper is a co-executive producer of the HBO Max series “Rap Shit,” is renowned for her connection with fellow rapper Lil Uzi Vert, and has been on the covers of Billboard, i-D, and Popsugar.
Nonetheless, Lee apparently intervened and assisted in refocusing the discourse on the music.