The 40-year-old rapper took to Twitter to share her thoughts at her song being considered in the pop category.
After Nicki Minaj questioned the decision to move her song "Super Freaky Girl" out of the rap category to compete in the pop category at the GRAMMYs, she fired at fellow rapper Latto and kicked off a long back-and-forth that quickly got personal.
The rapper took to Twitter on Thursday to explain that she feels her song is being unfairly treated, in comparison to how the GRAMMYs have designated other songs in the same categories.
"Now, let's say that 'Super Freaky Girl' is a pop song. Let's just say that. What is [Latto's] 'Big Energy'? ... If you move 'Super Freaky Girl' out of rap and put it in pop, do the same thing for 'Big Energy,'" the 10-time nominee said in a series of Instagram Live remarks, referring to Latto's hit single.
"Same producers on both songs, by the way," she added. "So let's keep s**t fair." Controversial superproducer Dr. Luke and Vaughn Oliver are credited on each single.
"I have no prob being moved out the RAP category as long as we r ALL being treated FAIRLY. If SFG has 2B moved out RAP then so does Big Energy!" Minaj wrote on Twitter. "ANY1 who says diff is simply a Nicki hater or a troll. I’d actually LUV 2 c a more street record win- male OR female! IJS rightIsRight"
The 40-year-old also responded to a Twitter user who commented, "Anaconda was nominated for Rap Song. Wouldn’t you say that SFG and Anaconda are sonically similar. So what changed??? #grammys"
"I’d LOVE to know," Minaj replied.
Latto took to her Twitter account to wonder why she had been brought into the conversation, writing, "Damn I can't win for losing...all these awards/noms I can't even celebrate." The 23-year-old recently won the BET Hip Hop Award for Song of the Year, a victory Kodak Black lashed out at her for.
Calling the younger rapper a "Karen" and "Scratch Off," Minaj responded in a now-deleted tweet by posting a screenshot of a text exchange between the two where Latto said she agreed with her, but didn't feel the need for her name to be brought up.
"This Karen has probably mentioned my name in over 100 interviews," Minaj wrote. "Says she waited in line for Pink Friday w her Barbie chain on, bangs, pink hair...but today, scratch off decides to be silent; rather than speak up for the black woman she called her biggest inspiration."
Latto responded, saying she texted because she "didn't wanna do the internet [s**t]" with someone she "looked up to."
"I wanted to speak up cuz like I said I do agree but the way u going about it seems malicious," Latto added. "I've ignored countless subtweets since March and instead addressed u in the dm. ... Ur literally older than my mom tryna be a bully @NICKIMINAJ."
The back-and-forth quickly devolved into name-calling and insults as the two argued over Minaj's lack of support for Latto and, allegedly, other young female rappers, accusations of using ghostwriters and Latto reminding the internet that Minaj's husband, Kenneth Petty, and her brother, Jelani Maraj, are convicted rapists.
Minaj later deleted a majority of her tweets and replies to the other rapper. She also fired back at some critics who said she shouldn't be complaining about what category she's nominated in, shutting down their arguments that it doesn't matter.
"Could you imagine someone telling you not to 'complain' about being treated unfairly at your workplace?" she wrote. "This is my job. I work very hard. No diff from a 9-5 where you should speak up for yourself if you know you’re a great employee & continue to be purposely sabotaged."
She also shared a message with her legion of outspoken fans, explaining that she's not trying to incite any anger, just trying to spark an open conversation and debate.
"And Barbz, there’s no need to be angry. This is simply an open discussion/healthy dialogue." she shared. "Independent thinking is what makes us human beings!"
Despite Minaj's assertion that "the goalpost only ever moved when it’s Nicki," this is far from the first time that musicians have objected to their submissions being shifted between categories.
In October 2021, Kacey Musgraves spoke out against her song being switched from her chosen genre, country, to pop. Brandi Carlile also took issue when her song "Right On Time" was reassigned from Americana to pop that same year. In 2020, Justin Bieber objected to his Changes album being considered pop when he saw it to be an R&B album and should have been recognized as such.
The 2023 GRAMMYs will air live on Sunday, Feb. 5 from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on the CBS Television Network and stream on Paramount+.
RELATED CONTENT:
