Nicki Minaj and Cardi B have been at each other’s throats for so long that it’s hard to keep up with their feud. The two have had many reasons to antagonize one another over the years, but the conflict boils down to a struggle for dominance in the female rap landscape. The crowned Queen of Rap dominated the industry for many years, reintroducing female rap to the mainstream before Cardi B stormed the limelight in the 2010s.
At the onset of her career, Cardi had regard for Nicki and even considered her an idol. However, fans began playing the pair against each other, fueling a rivalry that quickly ballooned into a longstanding feud. When Cardi pulled off Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 for the first time with “Bodak Yellow,” Nicki congratulated her on Twitter (now X). The gesture de-escalated the tension between the two, but their feud soon snowballed into a physical altercation in 2018.
Nicki Minaj And Cardi B’s Feud Started In March 2017
https://twitter.com/MeelzTV/status/874068180582453249
Throughout 2017, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B subtly dissed each other but insisted they weren’t feuding until it became obvious. It began in March 2017 when Nicki seemingly liked an Instagram comment describing Cardi’s freestyle lyrics as “dumb ass bars.” Nicki hinted that she wasn’t behind the Instagram reaction, liking a tweet that pointed out it was photoshopped. But in May, she name-dropped Cardi’s partner Offset in Katy Perry’s “Swish Swish.” “Silly rap beefs just get me more checks / My life is a movie, I’m never off set / Me and my amigos, no, not Offset / Swish swish, aww I got them upset,” rapped the Trinidadian.
At the peak of Nicki Minaj and Remy Ma’s row that June, fans pitted Nicki against Cardi, claiming that the latter betrayed the “Anaconda” rapper for performing at Remy Ma’s Hot 97’s Summer Jam festival. Remy performed her Nicki diss track “ShETHER” at the event with a picture of the rap queen on the screen. Cardi B took to X to dismiss the narrative, asserting that she wouldn’t miss opportunities because of a dispute that has nothing to do with her. “It’s not joining forces with the enemy, it’s empowering each other. I love those who love me and support me,” she wrote.
Exactly idgaf about no beef shit I'm not beefing with nobody I'm not going to miss opportunities cause of shit that got nothin to do wit me https://t.co/CumKJLuljg
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) June 12, 2017
It's not joining forces wit the enemy is empowering each other .I love who love me & support me https://t.co/PBWZqRpsnE
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) June 12, 2017
The Tension Between Them Escalated With Their First Collaboration In October 2017
Before they eventually gave in to maligning each other openly, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B had a field day exchanging subliminal messages. During a performance at MoMA PS1 in August, Cardi talked about a b**ch who never liked her but now wants to be her friend. That same month, parts of Nicki’s lyric on London on da Track’s “No Flag” read, “Lil’ bitch I heard these labels tryna make another me / Everything you getting little hoe is cause of me.” The song was released shortly after Cardi signed with Atlantic, but Nicki dismissed the notion that she was referring to Cardi in a tweet that claimed she wrote the verse months before Cardi’s deal.
https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/900886461440020482
Nicki’s explanation didn’t stop Cardi from firing her own shots in September 2017. She featured alongside A$AP Rocky in G-Eazy’s “No Limit” and rapped: “My career takin’ off / These hoes jogging in place / Swear these hoes run they mouth / How these hoes out of shape? / Can you stop with all the subs? / Bitch I ain’t Jared / If you really want some smoke / You can pull up, you can get it.” Days later, the New York rapper appeared on The Breakfast Club and denied having issues with Nicki.
In September, Nicki Minaj congratulated Cardi when “Bodak Yellow” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Cardi embraced the goodwill, and for a while, it seemed all was good between them. Unfortunately, the collaboration that was supposed to strengthen their reconciliation stirred a controversy that rekindled the feud.
https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/912412180431167488
Thank you!! This means sooo much coming from you!! ❤️ https://t.co/vPGwFiBAiQ
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) September 25, 2017
When Migos featured both rappers in “MotorSport” that October, Cardi B’s label reportedly demanded that Nicki change the line: “If Cardi the QB, I’m Nicki Lombardi.” Nicki obliged, altering it to “If Quavo the QB, I’m Nick Lombardi.” However, she was unhappy that Cardi talked about her changing her verse at interviews without explaining why. She tweeted about this and also addressed it in an interview with Zane Lowe in 2018.
https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/984554676673593345
“The only thing with Cardi that really, really, really hurt my feelings was the first interview she did after “MotorSport” came out,” Nicki told the Apple Music 1 host. “The first thing that came out of her mouth about a Nicki Minaj feature was ‘she changed the verse’ … and when it was time to clear the air about that, no one did that. All of them allowed me to look like I lied.”
The Physical Altercation At New York Fashion Week In September 2018
Again, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B tried to resolve their differences in May 2018 at the Met Gala. They exchanged pleasantries at the event and supposedly buried their hatchet. Cardi confirmed this when she appeared on the Howard Stern Show later that month. She divulged that they’ve reached an understanding and blamed fans for pitting them against each other. “It’s always little issues, but the thing is, fans are always gonna make it a big thing,” she said.
When Beat 1’s Ebro Darden asked Nicki about Cardi in August, her brash response reignited the feud. “Can we please move on?” She asked, before asking Cardi to grow a thick skin. “She may have taken issue with things that I’ve said, but I’m not going to bite my tongue. You gotta have thick skin… You can’t be expected to be liked and loved and praised all the f**king time. Give me a break.”
The two met again at Harper’s Bazaar’s ICONS party at New York Fashion Week, exchanging harsh words that quickly escalated into a physical altercation. Reports claimed Cardi was the aggressor, but she took to Instagram to detail how the senior colleague has been antagonizing her. Nicki addressed the altercation on her Queen Radio Show days later, denying most of Cardi’s allegations.
The “Barbie Dreams” rapper described the incident as “mortifying” and “humiliating,” dismissing Cardi B’s statement as a desperate attempt to save face. “You knew when that footage came out, you were about to look f**king dumb. So your publicist, also looking f***king dumb, hurried and put out a statement.” She also rebutted Cardi’s claims as “horrendous accusations,” saying: “I just want people to know that Onika Tanya Maraj has never, will never … speak ill of anyone’s child.”
Nicki Minaj And Cardi B Resumed Feuding In September 2025
After the physical altercation in 2018, the rappers continued to diss each other subtly until 2023, when their respective partners got involved. Alongside his friends, Nicki Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, was seen in a video, taunting Offset to come out. Things quietened when the action earned Petty 120 days of home detention for violating his probation. That was in September 2023.
Why you keep bringing up my album?? It’s not the gag that you think it is..You been in the game like 16 years.. you need to compare yourself to YOUR peers that started around YOUR time. Rihanna, Taylor swift, Drake…those are the numbers you need to be competing wit and you can’t…
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) September 30, 2025
Album flopped. Pussy flopped. Never won a fight. Outrank u in your own gang. Stfu come fight. Sympathy baby couldn’t pull 228K. Abort. Abort mission.
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) October 1, 2025
Naaaaa ima stop.. but I’m not gonna let her flip the narrative.. that’s why she was deleting tweets the first day to make it seem like somebody was bothering her!! But I wanna see when I was mocking her son I want her to SHOW ME yall not flipping narratives around here!!!… https://t.co/2bCem3KSNG
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) October 2, 2025
fucking a DL man raw & got pregnant wit another monkey. You said oh well, he all our baby daddies now. Your husband said he NEVER LIKED YOU. Your pussy on YUCK. HUBBY told PEE YEARS ago how UGLY you look always swollen & botched in the face from surgery.
So guess what? Zoo TAKE…— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) October 1, 2025
Two years later, the rap queens resumed their row. The latest spat began after Nicki Minaj posted “$4.99” on X, mocking the price for Cardi B’s new album “Am I the Drama.” When Cardi called her out, they began trading insults online, cussing each other out from September into October. They berated nearly everything about each other, including their kids. Hopefully, they’ve let it all out, and that will be the end of it all. Check out the celebrity engagements you probably missed in 2025.
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