The Cardi B and Nicki Minaj drama reached a fever pitch when the nearly year-long feud culminated in a public fight last week in New York City. Following the fight, the women continued throwing stones at one other, with Cardi (née Belcalis Almanzar), 25, and Minaj (née Onika Maraj), 35, taking swipes on Instagram and the radio, respectively.
But how did this even start? When did their conflict begin?
I wrote a poem to sum up the 1,000 words ahead: "Cardi B came on the scene, said 'Nicki hold my beer.' Nicki glared, and fumed, and yelled, 'Bitch, I'm still here.'" Anyway, here's everything you need to know about this absurd feud.
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October 2017
It all began with "Motor Sport," the Migos song that featured the both Minaj and Cardi in two guest verses. (Cardi now shares daughter Kulture with husband and Migos rapper, Offset.)
November 29, 2017
In a studio interview with The Norte Show on Capital Xtra, Cardi said the Minaj verse she originally heard was not what ended up in the final cut of "Motor Sport."
"When I heard the track, her verse wasn’t finished. It was not the verse it was right now. Quavo told me to get on the song. I felt like it was a perfect opportunity to be big like them.”
The implication here is that Minaj had time to recalibrate her verse, but Cardi wasn't give the same luxury.
It must have ruffled Minaj's feathers — she sent out a disgruntled tweet about it months later.
April 5, 2018
In an interview with Apple's Beats 1, Cardi fielded questions from interviewer Ebro Darden about rumors of the rapper's feud. "I just feel like it’s really internet made-up. I really feel like fans, fans, and people they really want to see that happen because it’s really entertaining,” she said. “To see people beefing is really entertaining."
April 12, 2018
In her own interview with Beats 1, Pitchfork reports the "Barbie Tingz" singer revealed how upset she was when she heard Cardi's comments. "I remember when I first came in the game... I would only be singing [other rappers'] praises and saying thank you," Minaj said, adding, "The first interview she did, it just hurt me because she looked so aggravated and angry. She just kept saying she didn’t hear it...I was like, What?"
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And as far as Cardi's more positive comments about Minaj, she wasn't that impressed, saying: "Up until this recent interview she did, I had never seen her show me genuine love in an interview. I can only imagine how many girls wished they could’ve been on a song with Nicki Minaj."
How can you say someone changed their verse & forget to say Quavo TOLD me to remove my singing part (which I loved) & Atlantic told me to remove your name from my verse per your request? So how were those changes gonna happen if I didn’t “change” my verse? ?? #NickiDay #ChunLi
— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) April 12, 2018
May 7, 2018
In what felt like a climactic meeting of hip-hop titans, a heavily-pregnant Cardi was photographed in conversation with Minaj at the 2018 Met Gala. Smiling for the cameras, the singers had seemingly put their enmity aside.
August 16, 2018
In an appearance on Stephen Colbert's The Late Show, the "Barbie Dreams" singer was over the gossip about her feud with Cardi.
"Give me a fucking break," she said. "I didn't know Cardi and I had an issue, but I guess we do, since you and other people are saying it. You've got to have thick skin. People say shit about me all the time. You can't expect to be liked and loved all the time. Give me a break."
September 7, 2018
The feud between the two rappers quickly turned physical during an altercation at a New York Fashion Week party both were attending. Onlookers shared photos and videos of the incident showing Cardi yelling in the general direction of Minaj as bodyguards tried to pull her away. She then took off her shoe and reportedly flung it towards Minaj.
Hours later, Cardi released a comment on Instagram, claiming she lost her cool after Minaj allegedly liked questionable tweets about Kulture.
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“I addressed you once in person, I addressed you a second time in person, and every time you copped the plea!! 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 fucking off!! I’ve worked to[sic] hard and come too far to let anybody fuck with my success!!!! Bitches talk all that shit in they raps but in real life they pussy!! This shit really is for entertainment!!”
According to BallerAlert, Cardi might have been referencing Minaj's alleged likes of tweets that questioned the message she was sending to her daughter.
Likes from Nicki Minaj that might have been the straw that broke the camels back with Cardi pic.twitter.com/pAEELMbUgU
— BallerAlert (@balleralert) September 8, 2018
September 10, 2018
Minaj took to her Queen Radio show on iTunes on Monday, devoting the show to all things Cardi. Or rather, all things to malign Cardi's character.
"The other night, I was a part of something so mortifying and humiliating to go through," Minaj began, adding that watching fellow guests pass "by looking at this disgusting commotion, I was mortified. I could not believe how humiliating it all felt because of how we made ourselves look."
Billboard reports Minaj then played a 2017 clip of Cardi's interview with Fader in which she says kids are not off limits, followed by a guest who alleges she was harassed on social media by the "Bodak Yellow" rapper. But Minaj was far from done, saying: "They put out a statement and I didn’t even feel the need to defend myself that night. We did just hear this woman say nothing is off-limits, even kids. She has built her career off of sympathy and payola... Who are you angry at, sweetheart? Do you know what it’s like to sit in your room for hours writing raps? You came into my fucking culture. I never had to fuck a DJ to play my songs."
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September 12, 2018
Cardi responds to Minaj online, protesting the accusation she gained her popularity by paying for radio plays. "NUMBERS DONT FUCKIN LIE," Cardi captioned a list of 2018's 10 best selling hip-hop albums.
She followed with two more posts : "7/29/2016! NO LABEL ,NO RADIO PLAY,FRESH OUT OF LOVE AND HIP HOP,ONLY 200K IN MY BANK ACCOUNT ,MY FIRST TOUR !!!nobody can make you feel like you cheated yourself or you don’t deserve to be where you at when you KNOW YOU WORKED YOURSELF TO THE TOP !!! THANK YOU BARDIGANG !YOU BEEN HERE SINCE THE GET GO!"
September 13, 2018
The two famous New Yorkers were even divided in their choice of candidate for New York Governor, with Cardi backing Cynthia Nixon, and Minaj backing victor Andrew Cuomo. Late Thursday night, it was announced that Cuomo beat Nixon.
October 29, 2018
During an episode of Beats 1's Queen Radio on Apple Music, Minaj claims it was Love & Hip Hop's Rah Ali, not security or Minaj herself, who attacked Cardi at the ICONS Party.