The recent altercation between the rap queens, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, is actually the boiling point of an extended feud. In fact, issues have been speculated for well over a year, dating back to before Cardi B’s Billboard #1 song “Bodak Yellow” swept the charts.
While the relationship publically fluctuated over the past year, recent events indicate that the pair has no desire to rekindle any association. In honor of the as-yet-conclusive clash of Queens, here is a timeline of history detailing Nicki Minaj and Cardi B's tumultuous relationship.
"I HEARD THESE LABELS TRYNA MAKE ANOTHER ME"
While Nicki was in a full-blown beef with Remy Ma, a line on London On Da Track’s “No Flag”, could’ve been interpreted as a blow aimed at then-buzzing Cardi B. “Lil bitch, I heard these labels tryna make another me / Everything you getting little hoe is cause of me." It should be noted that Cardi was skyrocketing the charts with “Bodak Yellow," and Nicki's use of "lil bitch" was eyebrow-raising to say the least. Not only that, but Cardi had recently signed to Atlantic Records; it wouldn't be surprising for a competing record label to come gunning for Minaj.
"CONGRATULATIONS TO A FELLOW NEW YAWKA"
Cardi responded with gratitude.
"NO LIMIT"
When Cardi was featured on G-Eazy’s “No Limit Remix," many speculated she was taking shots at Nicki Minaj. Cardi then appeared on The Breakfast Club to do some damage control. When asked if the lines were about Nicki, Cardi responded by saying they were actually aimed at females from her old neighborhood.
"MOTORSPORT"
Despite a shared collaboration on Migos “Motorsport," the alleged feud was far from over. In fact, it actually marked the beginning of a more uproarious conflict. Though rumors suggested otherwise, Nicki took to Twitter to clear the air, addressing the narrative suggesting she was unaware that Cardi would be appearing alongside her.
Adding on to that, when it became known that Nicki’s verse was edited, it stirred up yet another problem. During an interview with Capital Xtra, Cardi admitted that the verse we heard was not the initial verse she heard. “When I heard the track, her verse wasn’t finished. It is not the verse that is on right now." The initial verse featured Cardi’s name, but was changed to Quavo’s at the discretion of Cardi’s label, Atlantic.
Cardi hit up Beats 1 to state that there was no issue between her and Nicki, explaining how everyone wants to pin the two against each other. “I just feel like it’s really internet-made-up,” she said. “I really feel like fans and people, they really want to see that happened, because it’s really entertaining to see people beef. It’s entertaining. Like, I ain’t gonna front, when Nicki and Remy [Ma] was beefing, everyone was tuning and asking, ‘What’s next? What’s next?’…But I don’t really have the time for that."
In an emotional interview with Zane Lowe, Nicki revealed that she had been hurt when Cardi didn’t embrace her, citing the aforementioned interview where Cardi talked about Nicki’s changed verse. “That really, really hurt me," said Minaj. "I really, fully supported Cardi and up until this recent interview I did, I had never seen her show me genuine love in an interview and I can imagine how many girls wish they could’ve been on a song with Nicki Minaj.”
"MET GALA"
Nicki and Cardi seemed to relinquish a relationship at the May 2018 Met Gala, where they were seen embracing each other and engaging in conversation. Later, Cardi hit Howard Stern’s Sirius XM show, where she cleared up any rumors that the two were feuding. “I never was feuding with anybody; there was a misunderstanding,” she explained. “I think she felt a certain type of way about something. I definitely felt a certain type of way about something. I didn’t wanna ever talk about it in public because I felt like we gonna see each other again and we will talk about it, and it’s always, like, little issues."
"The thing is, it’s always little issues, but you know, fans are always gonna make it a big thing," she continued. "I spoke to her about it. I spoke to her at the Met Gala about it, and it’s just like, see? It’s just something that had to be talked about because it was an issue.”
EBRO STIRS THE POT
The pair seemed to be on a neutral path until things shifted. In August, Ebro sat in on Queen Radio, where he asked Nicki about her and Cardi B’s feud. Nicki quickly became aggravated. “I didn’t know Cardi and I had an issue. To me, she may have taken an issue with things that I’ve said, but I’m not going to bite my tongue," she said. "You gotta have thick skin. People talk shit about me all the time. I don’t go around and tell people to stop posting me because I see one bad thing about myself.” Cardi then, posted about an unnamed person blocking her on social media.
It was then discovered by a fan that the unnamed person was indeed Nicki.
"BLOODY SHOES"
The falling out came to a violent conclusion at the Harper’s Bazaar event, when the two engaged in a physical altercation. Cardi, unable to get to Nicki, threw her shoe across the bodyguards and was subsequently escorted out of the event. Soon after, Cardi released a statement on Instagram saying Nicki had talked about her baby, 2-month-old Kulture, and consistently attempted to “stop her bag”.
"SYMPATHY AND PAYOLA"
Nicki proceeded to address the situation on Queen Radio, explaining her side of the story. She quickly dispelled any notion that she had slandered Cardi's baby Kulture. “I, Onika Tanya Maraj, would never speak ill on anyone’s child," she vowed. She continued to dish dirt at Cardi B, explaining that she put out that statement so she wouldn’t look dumb. “You knew when that footage came out, you was about to look fucking dumb. So, your publicist, also looking fucking dumb, they hurried and put out a statement”.
She continued to vent about the situation, saying Cardi’s career is based off “Sympathy and Payola”. The situation got even more heated when Nicki truly opened fire, calling Cardi a "disgusting pig" among other heated insults. As of now, Cardi has yet to respond, short of subliminal captions along the lines of "I get up 10."