I’m really not sure where to start with this one. It’s going to be a rather short rant instead of a review. Here we have the most brutal diss of 2017 thus far from Remy Ma and the Queen of Rap, Nicki Minaj. This, however, did not excite me as it should. I’ve had an actual argument with someone over this, and I will now type it for the world to read: Nicki had no right responding. She is the go to female rapper. Angry “real rap” fans will be in a frenzy right about now and stop reading to curse me wondering how I can say such a thing. But the fact of the matter is that Nicki Minaj is the best selling rapper of all time. Art is subjective. My Top 5 rappers should not reflect yours; we each have our tastes, we each relate to different things. However, numbers don’t lie.
All of that said, lyrically, Nicki Minaj was murdered for 7 long minutes. “Shether”, Remy Ma’s cleverly titled cover of Nas’s “Ether”, Is BRUTAL. I won’t post lyrics, but Remy speaks the truth in bar after bar. Nicki’s “No Frauds” is…a song. Her rebuttals are solid, with a few clean lines, but her reply feels more like a Young Money reunion track than a diss song. Well, she did say she makes hits not diss tracks. Still no excuses. It was weak. It had features for some reason. It was just super meh.
But why did you even reply? Did this phase you? You are the best selling female rapper of all time! Remy is a far superior rapper. I’m sure everyone knows this. What Nicki has that Remy doesn’t, is an audience. She had it for a week. I was ready to do a review of “Shether”, noting that although it was a brilliant diss track, it lacks what Nicki Minaj has: Lasting appeal.
Nicki Minaj went from being that weirdo in our faces being weird, to being seen as a Queen at the top of the game. With her silly, easy to swallow bubble gum rap, she gained a massive audience. Remy was one of the “great” female rappers, had a verse on “Lean Back” then went jail. Like, really though? I don’t actively follow her, but I also don’t follow Nicki Minaj. There was a point when she was forced down our throats. If you were to ask a random person to name 5 Remy Ma songs, they will struggle. This beef just seemed like it could’ve been left out.
I don’t think I’m that far out of the hip-hop sphere; (I DO NOT LISTEN TO 21 SAVAGE AND DEM MEN), screamed the boy into your mind for no reason. I accept that some form of hip-hop isn’t for me. I understand that. But it was just 2015 when the Drake Vs Meek Mill beef lit up and it was all anyone could talk about. “Back to Back” is Grammy nominated. A ridiculous feat when a song you dedicated to the desolation of someone’s career is considered to be the best song of the year. That was a stupid beef that I could get behind. That was entertaining. This just feels…forced.
