Through shady interviews, sneak disses in tracks, and subs on social media, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B have been waging a cold war for years. But things turned nuclear on Tuesday, September 30th, when the two traded personal and ugly insults on X.”<\/p>\n
So how exactly did we get here? Was it Nicki\u2019s obsession with being the queen of rap? Is Cardi too sensitive? Below we revisit the history of Cardi B and Nicki\u2019s long simmering feud and the events that led us here.<\/p>\n
June 2017: Cardi B joins Remy Ma at Summer Jam<\/p>\n
There\u2019s debate on when the feud between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B began. While some believe it started as early as March 2017<\/a>, it\u2019s\u00a0likely that part of the reason Nicki didn\u2019t welcome the young rapper into the scene with open arms is Cardi\u2019s appearance during Remy Ma<\/a>\u2019s 2017 performance at Hot 97\u2019s Summer Jam festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n The performance came in\u00a0the heat of Nicki\u2019s feud with Remy<\/a>, as Cardi B joined a procession of other women rappers to perform \u201cU.N.I.T.Y.,\u201d before Remy delivered a performance of her Nicki diss track \u201cShETHER\u201d complete with a picture of Nicki behind her.<\/p>\n August 2017: Nicki denies subbing Cardi on \u201cNo Flags\u201d<\/p>\n In August 2017, Nicki Minaj appeared on London on da Track\u2019s single \u201cNo Flags\u201d alongside Cardi\u2019s boo at the time Offset and 21 Savage. On it,\u00a0she rapped: “Lil\u2019 bitch I heard these labels tryna make another me\/Everything you getting little hoe is ’cause of me.”<\/p>\n People immediately began speculating that Nicki was taking shots at the former Love & Hip Hop star, but she quickly denied\u00a0those claims.<\/p>\n September 2017: Cardi\u00a0featured on \u201cNo Limit,\u201d denies beef on The Breakfast Club<\/p>\n In an interview with The Breakfast Club<\/a>, Charlamagne and DJ Envy prodded Cardi B about the alleged beef she had with Nicki. The question followed rumors circulating\u00a0that Belcalis was dissing Nicki in her feature on G-Eazy\u2019s \u201cNo Limit.\u201d \u201cCan you stop with all the subs?\/Bitch, I ain\u2019t Jared,\u201d she rapped.<\/p>\n Cardi denied they had any problems saying, “We just conversated man. And that’s it.” She also brushed off the \u201cNo Limit\u201d rumor by explaining, \u201cPeople don\u2019t understand that I got beef with 10 bitches in the hood, and I still be in the hood.\u201d<\/p>\n September 25, 2017: Cardi B makes history with No. 1 song \u201cBodak Yellow\u201d<\/p>\n In the fall of 2017, Cardi B broke the first of her many records\u00a0by becoming the second female rapper with a No. 1 hit song on the Billboard Hot 100, thanks to \u201cBodak Yellow.\u201d Lauryn Hill accomplished the feat with\u00a0“Doo Wop (That Thing)” back in 1998.<\/p>\n After the news broke, Nicki Minaj congratulated Cardi on the No. 1 hit,\u00a0praising\u00a0her on X.<\/p>\n October 2017: Migos drops \u201cMotorSport\u201d featuring Nicki and Cardi<\/p>\n It was a blessing and a curse when Migos dropped \u201cMotorsport,\u201d a dope track featuring both Nicki and Cardi. Despite both rappers consistently denying their feud, people began speculating they were sneak dissing each other on the same song.<\/p>\n Still, the two women steered clear of the rumors. \u201cI feel like people wouldn\u2019t even be satisfied if me and her was making out on a freaking photo,\u201d Cardi told Complex<\/a> later that month. “I feel like people just want that drama because it’s entertaining.”<\/p>\n Nicki also denied the beef<\/a> in a series of tweets she later deleted. \u201cThese are men in our culture who simply refuse to let it go,\u201d she tweeted of the alleged conflict. \u201cThey don\u2019t do this to male M.C.\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n November\u00a02017: \u201cMotorSport\u201d video comes out<\/p>\n Eventually, the video for \u201cMotorSport\u201d<\/a> comes out and it\u2019s quickly apparent that Nicki did not shoot on the same day as Migos or Cardi. This stokes more rumors that the two have beef<\/a>,\u00a0though Nicki later claims it’s because her hairstylist wasn’t available the original day of the shoot.<\/p>\n When asked about it in one interview<\/a>\u00a0in November, Cardi B dances around the question awkwardly, while also revealing that Nicki\u2019s original song on the track was different.<\/p>\n The next day, Nicki fires off the following tweet.<\/p>\n April 5, 2018: Cardi B releases her debut album Invasion of Privacy<\/p>\n The winter goes by quietly, as Cardi and Nicki both seem to be in complete album mode, gearing up for 2018 album releases. Cardi\u2019s comes first. Her debut Invasion of Privacy\u00a0drops\u00a0and receives critical praise, landing at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.<\/p>\n Hours before her album comes out, Beats 1\u00a0releases an interview<\/a> of Cardi where she tells Ebro her beef with Nicki is completely made up. “I just feel like it’s really internet made-up,” she says. “I really feel like fans and people really want to see that happen because it’s really entertaining. To see people beef is entertaining.”<\/p>\n A few days later, we learn on\u00a0Saturday Night Live\u00a0that Cardi is pregnant<\/a>, and all seems well for the newly bonafide star.<\/p>\n April 12, 2018: Nicki\u2019s releases two singles and tells Zane Lowe Cardi never showed her \u201cgenuine\u201d love<\/p>\n Following Invasion of Privacy, Nicki releases \u201cChun-Li\u201d and \u201cBarbie Tingz,\u201d the first singles from\u00a0her\u00a0album Queen,\u00a0which she would later announce. To debut the singles, Nicki heads over to Zane Lowe\u2019s show<\/a> on Beats 1.<\/p>\n During her\u00a0interview with Zane, Nicki finally addresses what\u2019s been bubbling under the surface all these months. “The only thing that Cardi did that really hurt my feelings was the first interview after ‘Motorsport’ came out,\u201d Nicki said. \u201cIt just really hurt me because the only thing she kept saying was, ‘I didn’t hear that verse. She changed her verse.'”<\/p>\n “I kind of felt ambushed,\u201d Nicki continued, while\u00a0getting visibly upset. She also said Quavo “didn’t back [her] up” on the story of how the record came about, which prompted\u00a0the Barbs to swarm the Migos rapper<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nicki went on to explain that her hairdresser had a scheduling conflict the day of the \u201cMotorSport\u201d shoot, but that Migos and Cardi kept quiet when rumors about the beef escalated. \u201cAll of them allowed me to look like I lied and even with the scheduling conflict, she\u2019s using my hairdresser now, so even he can attest to the fact that there was a scheduling conflict,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI really fully supported her and up until this recent interview I had never seen her show me genuine love in an interview,\u201d she said, referring to Cardi\u2019s conversation with Ebro. \u201cI can just imagine how many girls wish they could of been on a song with Nicki Minaj. I\u2019m not saying it in a cocky way.\u201d<\/p>\n Coincidentally, Nicki\u2019s original verse on \u201cMotorSport\u201d leaked the same day<\/a> as her interview, revealing she had referenced\u00a0Cardi:<\/p>\n The final version replaced Cardi\u2019s name with Quavo, and it\u2019s still unclear if it was meant to be shade or a shout out. Nicki later tweeted that she changed the verse per\u00a0Atlantic\u2019s request.<\/p>\n May 7, 2018: The Met Gala<\/p>\n Despite Nicki\u2019s Beats 1 interview, photographers capture the two rappers having a cordial moment on the red carpet during the 2018 Met Gala. Once again, things seem fine.<\/p>\n Later in May\u00a0on the Howard Stern show<\/a>, Cardi explains that the two rappers talked things\u00a0out at the Met Gala. \u201cI never was feuding with anybody. There was a misunderstanding. She felt a certain type of way about something and I definitely felt a certain type of way about something. Didn\u2019t want to ever talk about it in public because I felt like we gonna see each other again and we will talk about it,” the Bronx native quipped. “It\u2019s always little issues but the thing is, fans are always gonna make it a big thing. I spoke to her about it. It\u2019s just like, see? It was just something that it had to be talked about.”<\/p>\n August 10, 2018: Nicki releases Queen<\/p>\n In August, Nicki Minaj finally releases\u00a0her album Queen, which includes her opening track “Ganja Burns.” Not long after the drop, fans are convinced<\/a> the slow burn is a diss aimed at Cardi. “Unlike a lot of these hoes whether wack or lit\/At least I can say I wrote every rap I spit,” she raps, allegedly addressing the idea\u00a0that Cardi does not write a lot of her lyrics.<\/p>\n Instead of celebrating, Nicki spends the days after\u00a0Queen’s release feuding with multiple people,\u00a0including DJ Self, who she claims\u00a0tried to feed her negative gossip\u00a0about Cardi B. Self later denies it<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was just up there dissin the btch thinking that would make me fuk wit him. Lmao. Jokes on you once again dummy. Passed up on ya meal tkt now u get crumbs from her table. Ur a reality tv hoe. Used to be a respected DJ,” she wrote in a series of now deleted tweets.<\/p>\n On Aug. 16, Nicki is interviewed by Ebro on Beats 1, and of course he asks about the Cardi beef. \u201cNow, I didn\u2019t know Cardi and I had an issue, but I guess we do since you\u2019re saying it and other people are saying it,\u201d she said, after trying to dismiss the question. \u201cTo me, she may have taken an issue with things that I\u2019ve said, but I\u2019m not going to bite my tongue…. You gotta have thick skin. People talk shit about me all the time…. You can\u2019t be expect to be liked and loved and praised all the fuckin\u2019 time. Give me a break.\u201d<\/p>\n August 19, 2018: ‘Queen’ lands at No. 2<\/p>\n All hell seems to break loose after Queen lands in the No. 2 spot<\/a> on the Billboard 200 chart behind Travis Scott\u2019s ASTROWORLD. Onika immediately responds to the news by going on a tweetstorm criticizing Travis for selling his album in tour and merch bundles (though she used similar tactics) and\u00a0calling out Spotify for heavily promoting Drake instead of her.\u00a0Nicki would go on to give<\/a> Travis the “Hoe N***a of the Week” award\u00a0on her Queen Radio show.<\/p>\n September 8, 2018: Cardi\u00a0attempts to fight Nicki at NYFW<\/p>\n Finally, the culmination of over a year of sneak dissing, shady interviews, and rumored\u00a0beef comes\u00a0to a head. News that Cardi B and Nicki got into a physical fight<\/a> at the Harper\u2019s Bazaar Icons party during NYFW flooded timelines on Sept.\u00a08\u00a0with video and photos of the incident. In one, Cardi\u00a0appears to have a giant lump on her head following\u00a0the fight.<\/p>\n In some videos, Cardi can be scene taking off her shoe to throw it. In another, she\u2019s being held back while yelling “Play with me bitch…keep fucking playing with me, play with my fucking kid bitch…I’ll fuck your ass up,\u201d while Nicki is protected by security.<\/p>\n According to TMZ,<\/a> the fight broke out after Cardi approached Nicki’s table “to address the lies Nicki was spreading.\u201d She was reportedly met with an elbow to the face as security attempted to halt the \u201cI Like It\u201d rapper, and Nicki\u2019s friend Rah Ali<\/a> apparently also go involved in the scuffle.<\/p>\n Cardi was eventually escorted out of the event, and went on Instagram to address the altercation without directly mentioning Nicki. “I’ve let a lot of shit slide! I let you sneak diss me, I let you lie on me, I let you attempt to stop my bags, fuck up the way I eat,” Cardi wrote. “You’ve threaten other artists in the industry, told them if they work with me you’ll stop fuckin with them!! I let you talk big shit about me!!”<\/p>\n September 10, 2018: Nicki Minaj\u00a0addresses NFYW\u00a0fight on Queen Radio<\/p>\n Things were initially\u00a0quiet on Nicki’s end following the NYFW\u00a0incident. Ms. Minaj waited until her eighth episode of Queen Radio on the following Monday\u00a0to address the altercation, and when she did, she went in<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nicki started off the discussion by playing a clip of Cardi\u00a0B during an interview she did in 2017 with Fader. In the clip, Cardi explains that “nothing is off limits” when she claps back at people, even their children.\u00a0“I hate when some people come at me like, ‘Why you coming at kids for,'” Cardi\u00a0can be heard saying.\u00a0“I’m my mother’s baby.”<\/p>\n The reason Nicki played this clip is pretty obvious. In her Instagram post following their fight, Cardi\u00a0indirectly claims Nicki talked about her daughter Kulture and her parenting skills. The clip is aimed at highlighting\u00a0hypocrisy in\u00a0that accusation, while the Queen rapper also denied\u00a0ever saying anything about Cardi’s\u00a0daughter. “I would never talk about anyone\u2019s child or anyone\u2019s parenting,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s so crazy to me that people always need to make Onika the bad guy…I am not a clown. That\u2019s clown shit.\u201d<\/p>\n “You knew that when that footage came out you would look dumb,\u201d Nicki continued, explaining why Cardi\u00a0and her team would make up the accusation.\u00a0\u201cI didn\u2019t even feel the need to defend myself that night. …She has built her career off of sympathy and payola.”<\/p>\n Nicki denied ever stopping bags from coming Cardi’s\u00a0way, and actually accused her of more than a few\u00a0things, including attacking a woman on Instagram<\/a> whose child died, and calling the child a “monkey.” She called out Cardi\u00a0for previously referring to darker skinned black women as roaches<\/a>, and alleged that Cardi actually threatened a male rapper to not shoot a video\u00a0with her.<\/p>\n “The lord gave you a blessing with a bundle of joy and the only thing on your\u00a0mind was to attack people and to stop their bags,” Nicki said, after suggesting Cardi\u00a0might have postpartum depression. “Who are you angry at sweetheart?”<\/p>\n Nicki also brought on her friend Rah, who was\u00a0involved in the NYFW\u00a0brawl. They spent a good amount of time talking about the two women who are reportedly planning to sue<\/a> Cardi B for allegedly organizing physical attacks on them. In the conversation, the women dragged Offset and blamed him for being the reason Cardi is so pressed, since\u00a0Cardi\u00a0reportedly thinks one of the victims slept with her husband.<\/p>\n October 28, 2018: The Leak, Allegedly<\/p>\n Cardi\u2019s sister Hennessey Carolina went on social media<\/a> to accuse Nicki of leaking Cardi\u2019s phone number to the\u00a0Barbz, leading to a barrage of hateful messages. \u201cShe leaked my sisters [sic] number to her fan pages,\u201d Hennessey wrote.<\/p>\n October 29, 2018: “What Type of Bird Shit You Talking About?”<\/p>\n Nicki returned\u00a0to Queen Radio<\/a>, and unleashed\u00a0a long monologue about Cardi, the fight, music,\u00a0and pretty much everything else.<\/p>\n When it came to the fight, Minaj said that her friend Rah Ali did serious damage to Cardi (as opposed to Cardi\u2019s telling, where security was to blame), and that there was footage to back that up. \u201cRah beat Cardi’s ass really bad,\u201d Nicki said. \u201cRah beat you so bad that I was mad at Rah.\u201d<\/p>\n Minaj also denied leaking Cardi\u2019s phone number (\u201cWhat type of bird shit you on, bitch?\u201d\u00a0she asked incredulously), and said that she had asked Cardi to collaborate, but got turned\u00a0down. Nicki also claimed<\/a> that she had been offered\u2014and turned down\u2014Cardi\u2019s Fashion Nova deal, and offered to take a lie detector test<\/a> to bolster all of her claims.<\/p>\n In more fashion news, Wilhelmina CEO Bill Wackerman took Nicki\u2019s side, disputing<\/a> Cardi\u2019s claim that Nicki was Diesel\u2019s second choice (behind her) to be the face of their Fashion Week campaign.<\/p>\n October 29, 2018: Cardi\u00a0Fires Back<\/p>\n In a series of 10 (!) Instagram videos, Cardi laid\u00a0out her rebuttal. A list of key takeaways:<\/p>\n If she was getting beaten so badly by Rah Ali, why hasn\u2019t any video of that surfaced yet? As Cardi memorably puts it, there was \u201cso much footages\u201d of the party and the fight.Cardi cops to demanding that Nicki change her verse on \u201cMotorsport,\u201d saying that she refused to shoot the video unless the now-infamous \u201cNick Lombardi\u201d line was changed.Cardi claims that Nicki turned down a chance to be on \u201cNo Limit,\u201d and then turned around and got upset at her management after it became a hit.Cardi attacked payola claims, pointing out that her single \u201cMoney,\u201d<\/a> even before it was delivered to radio, was charting on iTunes\u2014the same company that hosts Queen Radio.Cardi claimed that Nicki was responsible for the phone number leak. It happened one hour after their fight, Cardi said. Adding to the circumstantial evidence, Cardi said that neither her new number nor her sister\u2019s number had been leaked, and that no one in Nicki\u2019s camp had either one. \u201cHow come everybody that y\u2019all have issues with, and y\u2019all got the numbers in y\u2019all camp, they numbers got leaked?\u201d Cardi asked.Cardi claims that Nicki endorses her fans\u2019 \u201csick-ass fucking behavior\u201d by liking Twitter posts that advocate harassing Minaj\u2019s enemies.Cardi denied telling 21 Savage not to shoot a video for \u201cNo Flag.\u201d Instead, she says, the song just wasn\u2019t doing well.<\/p>\n All of this back-and-forth ended later that night in a truce…for now.<\/p>\n November 2018: The Beef Returns<\/p>\n It didn’t take long for Nicki and Cardi\u00a0to fall back into their longstanding feud. A couple weeks into their “truce,” things went\u00a0south when 6ix9ine<\/a> allegedly hired the two women suing Cardi<\/a>\u00a0for a music video featuring Nicki and Kanye West. The video was never finished<\/a> but this\u00a0move made it obvious the beef\u00a0was\u00a0still bubbling underneath the surface.<\/p>\n Then, two weeks later, Nicki allegedly sneak-dissed Cardi once again in her verse for \u201cMAMA\u201d on 6ix9ine\u2019s<\/a> debut album DUMMY BOY<\/a>. She raps: \u201cI was out in Spain rockin\u2019 a Medusa head\/I ain\u2019t never have to give a rap producer head\/If I do, though, I\u2019ma write a book like Supahead\/This ain\u2019t wonder that I\u2019m makin\u2019, this that super bread\/Splish, splash, fuck him in a hurry, quick, fast.\u201d<\/p>\n Fans of both rappers tried to put two and two together after Cardi \u201cresponded\u201d to the verse by denying she ever slept with DJ Self<\/a>, her former co-star on Love & Hip Hop. It’s possible the lyric breakdown is a stretch, but worth noting.<\/p>\n Just a few days later, Nicki\u00a0decided to take notes from her “FEFE” collaborator by casting the\u00a0two women planning to sue Cardi,<\/a>\u00a0Baddie Gi and Jade, to star in her\u00a0music video for \u201cGood Form<\/a>.” She even tagged them in a photo on her IG promoting the new video.<\/p>\n On top of that,\u00a0Meek Mill<\/a>‘s album\u00a0CHAMPIONSHIPS<\/a> dropped the next day, and the track “On Me” features Cardi. Nicki may feel\u00a0some type of way about her nemesis teaming up with her ex, even though Meek told Beats 1<\/a> he has no stake in their beef. <\/p>\n September 2023: The husbands join the feud<\/p>\n Nicki and Cardi both showed up to the 2023 MTV VMA\u2019s. This was the first time they were under the same roof in years. There was footage of Nicki, who was the host, seemingly mad at someone. And Cardi sent out the following post on X. <\/p>\n This lead to a situation where Nicki’s husband, Kenneth Petty, posted a video outside a hotel Offset was at in New York, suggesting they link. Offset responded laughing, since he was flying to Atlanta to stream with Kai Cenat at the time.<\/p>\n August 15th: Cardi B releases \u201cImaginary Playerz\u201d<\/p>\n Things were pretty quiet between the two. And then Cardi\u2019s Am I the Drama? <\/a>rollout started. One of the lead singles from the album is \u201cImaginary Playerz,\u201d in which Cardi B raps the following: \u201cStriped like Thom Browne, these bitches should calm down.\u201d The line could be read as a direct call-out to Nicki, who wore a striped Thom Browne dress at the Met Gala in 2025.<\/p>\n There are also some other lines that sound Nicki-coded, including: \u201cNow your 15 up, you already out of time \/ I’m a legend, they gon’ hang my heels from the power lines.\u201d<\/p>\n September 19th: Cardi B releases Am I the Drama?<\/p>\n After a seven years, Cardi B finally returned with her sophomore album, Am I the Drama? in September. There are several tracks where it sounds like she is sending subliminal shots at Nicki Minaj. The first is \u201cDEAD,\u201d featuring Summer Walker, where Cardi raps:<\/p>\n \u201cGuess who doing shows for damn near free and pockets hurting?\u201d<\/p>\n This line directly nods to celebrity blogger @itsKenBarbie\u2019s 2024 tweet about Nicki Minaj being in debt for her Pink Friday tour. In the tweet, Ken jeered at Nicki, saying:<\/p>\n \u201cYou blew your advance from your last tour and now this tour is collateral, so you\u2019re literally bout to tour for free cause you owe Uncle Sam money.\u201d<\/p>\n September 24th: Cardi addresses Nicki on the Call Her Daddy podcast<\/p>\n On the podcast, Cardi addressed the long-standing conspiracy theory that she was \u201cchosen\u201d to enter the industry to compete with and eventually replace Nicki Minaj. This rumor circulated online when Cardi first gained buzz a few years back.<\/p>\n Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper asked Cardi:<\/p>\n \u201cYou recently said, as you have been lately also alluding to, that there are some female rappers in the industry that cannot stand you. Why do you think that is?\u201d<\/p>\n Cardi responded:<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have made this whole story that I came in the industry to like take over somebody’s career or like make them think, but it’s like I never thought about\u2014I never thought that. It’s nothing more than just people didn’t get along with each other and that’s just that. But I’m done with that. I’m so done with that. I think it’s more of a fan thing.\u201d<\/p>\n September 28th: Nicki Minaj responds to Cardi\u2019s first-week sales<\/p>\n Cardi B\u2019s first-week sales arrived with 200,000 units sold, topping the Billboard<\/a> Chart. Nicki threw shade by reposting tweets that claimed she was still the highest-selling female rapper of the decade.<\/p>\n September 29th: Nicki and Cardi go at one another on Twitter<\/p>\n After announcing her album on X\u2014slated for release on March 27, 2026\u2014Nicki became increasingly active.<\/p>\n Nicki began firing off a series of now-deleted tweets, starting with a cryptic message:<\/p>\n “To every enabler: She then tweeted \u201c4.99\u201d to call out Cardi for discounting her album to boost sales, implying she was struggling to move units. She also started calling Cardi \u201cBarney B,\u201d comparing her to the children\u2019s TV character known for simple rhymes. She also mocked Cardi\u2019s line from \u201cMagnet\u201d:<\/p>\n \u201cA-B-C-D-E-F-G (Grr), these bitches can’t fuck with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Cardi would clap back on Twitter, amidst these tweets with her own series of responses, which became increasingly venomous and personal. She flipped her own \u201cMagnet\u201d bar to bring up Nicki\u2019s husband\u2019s sex crime charges:<\/a><\/p>\n At one point, Cardi pointed out the generational gap between the two:<\/p>\n Cardi also fired back after Nicki mocked her pregnancy body, alleging Nicki had fertility issues due to drug abuse:<\/p>\n September 30th 2025: Ice Spice and JT chime in<\/p>\n
Never provoke a writer while they’re \u270d\ufe0f
You joined the game as a willing participant. Don’t try to back out now.
3.27.26
#RocBottomNation #RocInflation #RicoNation you failed.
Let the reindeer games begin. We #WinAgain.”<\/p>\n