Nicki Minaj vs Remy Ma. The battle that social media and crew affiliates have officially egged on since Remy’s “Wait A Minute” Remix verse. I’ll say it starts there because I think everyone really believed that Remy was just happy to be home and rapping until that verse.

I like the strategy Nicki played here. She obviously felt a way about all the recent Remy verses and she was dying to send a few shots. She clearly waited to see how successful the Plata O Plomo album would be, before she jumped out the window. Which is smart. It was hard to speak bad on Remy when she had one of the biggest songs of the year and was heating up on music and TV. However, with the album not doing well, it’s prime time for Nicki to get some things off her chest.

On top of the Gucci verse. This joint with Jason Derulo and Ty Dolla Sign also came out.

Remy, obviously ready for this moment just off the energy surrounding the potential clash alone, didn’t waste anytime in crafting a response for the Pink Ruler of the Women’s Division of rap.

Now, I’m really not up for anyone using the “Ether” beat in general. But since Nas won’t play or perform it anymore, I guess there’s a pass to be exercised in all this. I think this is a very good diss. It’s not angry, but it’s personal. It’s a lot of low blows. It’s definitely some fact and that’s what people love to cling to more now in this era. I just wasn’t a fan of the energy. The charisma, the flair and the venom is missing on this. Nas has always had a chill and reserved demeanor. Even in Belly he wasn’t amped or excitable when he got shot. However, everybody else got to come with passion.

I see extreme mixed reviews on the diss and this matchup in general, so let’s break this down. Although we may never really find out if women can get along in rap, Nicki vs Remy can potentially be a great battle for this age. It’s already the only rap battle/beef worth paying attention to in 2017. Hip-Hop’s reaction already proved that.

Let’s Calm Down for A Minute.
Nicki doesn’t have to respond in 24-48 hours. Nicki is not going to get “Meek Milled”. Nicki is not “R.I.P’ed” because Remy hopped on the Ether beat. Everybody needs to relax on that. We are literally one or two summers removed from saying Nicki was a Top 5 Lyricist in rap excluding nobody. We are less than 10 months removed from calling Nicki “The baddest chick in the game”. How she dead off one verse that had a lot of info we already knew about?

Remy hasn’t ended Nicki’s career. SHEther is not a classic diss record. It’s not overrated, but it shouldn’t be underrated. Many of you have to stop acting like Remy Ma always been your favorite rapper in the women’s division. I was in the clubs when “Conceited” was trying to ring off. It wasn’t pretty. Most of you don’t remember her being on Pun’s 2nd album or on the Ante Up remix. A lot of your memories of Remy are “Lean Back”, her unfortunate jail stint and 2016. That’s not enough to put the career of Nicki Minaj to rest. Nicki sold y’all 2 albums, 4 times and profited each trip. It’s going to take a lot more than Remy on the Ether beat to destroy that.

This may be the best battle of public perception, social media slander and actual hip-hop that we will get. It’s not enough women rapping to bury either one of them. It’s also unclear who the general public wants to run the Women’s Rap Division. I clearly see we have 3 groups of people residing over this battle. Nicki Minaj’s Barbs, the people that finally want to see Nicki lose and the people who really want to see any other woman win.

Why that breakdown?
Because if Remy had real supportive fans, the Plata O Plomo album would have done better numbers and Nicki probably wouldn’t have jumped out the window. Right now the fanbase is so lopsided that they couldn’t clash the social crews and be fair. That reason alone is why Kim vs Nicki went so long. Remy needs her real fans to ride out and cop her latest project so this can even up on all ends.

I see people are not enamored with Remy’s flow on SHEther. The updates have been “Her flow is trash” it sounds choppy and like she’s reading. My question is, when has she never rhymed like that? We can go all the way Back to Fight Klub. That’s Remy’s flow. Even her Flex freestyles read and unread sound exactly the same. You’re just not a fan of it and that’s ok. Remy can really rap. She’s still turning the corner as an artist.

Who Wins The Battle?
This is a tough question. On one hand you have a certified superstar who is bigger than the genre of rap. The other hand, you have an emcee who has a second chance at “What If”.

The bulk of Niki’s fans don’t know or care who Remy Ma is or if she wins or loses a rap battle. Nicki can do her thing and get right back to where she was because of that and because hip-hop won’t give her “Kendrick or Cole” status in the game anyway. The unfortunate reality is women will always have an asterisk for “running this rap ish” no matter how many men need twice the amount of ghostwriters.

Remy needs to step it up. Her energy, her fire and her flow needs to be next level to compete. Bar for bar right now it’s a dead heat. Nicki just sounded more entertaining. Telling a lot of ugly truth on a beat is harsh, but we can’t sit back and marvel at it, like it’s lyrical mastery. Nicki didn’t have flame either. Her pen has dimmed a great deal in the last 2 years.

Pap and Remy will plot. This will get good, cause Papoose is one of the best at “the response”, period. You take his fire and flow and give it to Remy and you have an extreme problem on your hands. That will get ugly, quick! Remy has the talent to wash Nicki up, but can she do that while making up for lost time?

Unlike many of you, I’m not picking a side. I want to hear great rap and hopefully one of these ladies will make me a fan of them through bars. I’ve already liked enough thirst traps on IG.

Be Safe. Be Humble. Live Hip-Hop.