Nicki Minaj courts controversy. It's what she does. She has a list of beefs a mile long, and seemingly adds to it with each passing year. Minaj turned up the heat, however, even by her standards, when it came to JAY-Z. She destroyed the Roc Nation boss for not choosing Lil Wayne as the Halftime Show performer at the next Super Bowl. The rapper's anger quickly turned back on her, though, as fans and industry commentators criticized her for making the Halftime controversy about her.
Nicki Minaj took a step back following the backlash, and laid low on social media. She resurfaced on September 18, and did so by tweeting lyrics from an old song of hers. The song in question in titled "All Things Go." It's a softer, more melodic selection from her 2014 album The Pinkprint, but the lyrics are very much applicable to the way Minaj is being perceived right now. "Lemme make this clear," she raps. "I'm not difficult I'm just bout my business. I'm not into fake industry parties and fake agendas." Minaj is potentially drawing a line in the sand between her authenticity and the "fake industry" that someone like JAY-Z represents (at least, in her eyes).
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Nicki Minaj Criticizes The "Fake Agendas" Of Other Rappers
Nicki Minaj's closing line also seems carefully repurposed. "Rock with ppl for how they make me feel," she adds. "Not what they give me." Once again, a line is seemingly drawn between those she is on the side of and those she isn't. She's repeatedly stood up for Young Money artists like Drake and Lil Wayne, aka the people she rocks with. The second part of the line could be interpreted as a response to the viral tweet Memphis Bleek sent out in the midst of the Halftime Show controversy. Bleek reposted a video of Hov claiming that rappers get mad at him for "things he didn't do" for them.
By asserting that Nicki Minaj isn't concerned with what other people "give" her, she's basically rebuking Memphis Bleek's critiques. This is a more cryptic approach than fans are used to seeing from the rapper. She usually has no problem getting on Instagram Live or Twitter and roasting her target for hours on end. Minaj has bigger fish to fry at the moment, though. The rapper and her husband were recently accused of dodging payments on a $500K settlement involving a security guard. The guard claimed the rapper threw a shoe at his head after a 2019 concert.