Lizzo Says Nicki Minaj Ruled Female Rap For Years

Hot on the heels of dissing her on record, Lizzo is opening up about her complicated feelings regarding Nicki Minaj

In a new interview, Lizzo praised the rap icon’s accomplishments while acknowledging that she understands why the rise of a new generation of female rappers may have been difficult for the Queens superstar to navigate.

During a recent appearance on Drink Champs, Lizzo reflected on an awards show moment involving Minaj that stuck with her and led her to think about what it must be like to spend years at the top of the rap game.

Lizzo said she remembered Minaj appearing nonplussed when, during an unnamed awards ceremony sometime presumably in the 2010s, a Best Female Rapper-type category only had, in her memory, three nominees.

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“It was like she kind of had to laugh at that,” Lizzo said. “Because she was like, ‘It’s me.'”

The Grammy-winning artist explained that Minaj’s reaction made her consider the position the rapper had occupied for years before a wave of younger female artists entered the mainstream.

“I can’t imagine how that must feel to run it for that long and then to now have an influx of all of these extremely talented young women who are rapping and extremely popular and successful and winning Grammys and getting number ones,” Lizzo said.

Minaj was the winner of the BET Award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist for seven years in a row, from 2010 to 2016. In two of those years, 2011 and 2012, there were just four nominees including her.

While Lizzo made it clear that she respects Minaj’s contributions to hip-hop, she also addressed the tension that has surfaced between them in recent years.

“She’s never done anything personally to me where I feel like I have an issue with her,” Lizzo explained. “A lot of people say things about me on the internet.”

The singer and rapper emphasized that there is no personal feud from her perspective, even though she disagrees with some of Minaj’s public comments.

“I don’t have beef on my end with Nicki Minaj,” she said. “I can still say that she’s a great rapper and she has great records.”

At the same time, Lizzo admitted she hasn’t always appreciated how Minaj has spoken about her and people close to her.

“I don’t like the way she’s been moving, and the way that she talks about me, and the way she talks about my friends, my real friends,” Lizzo said. “I cannot like that. I’m allowed to not like that.”

The “Truth Hurts” artist also revealed that the two women have never had a personal relationship despite years in the spotlight.

“I don’t have a relationship at all,” Lizzo said. “I truly don’t know her. I know of her.”

Lizzo’s Drink Champs interview comes hot on the heels of her diss of Minaj on an alternate version of “Bitch.”

On the song, Lizzo raps, “Used to be the biggest fan, and I lost weight/Wait, wait. Let me fixate.”

Minaj recently made comments on social media attacking Lizzo’s recent weight loss, music career, and ongoing legal issues.