Nicki Minaj and Latto went at it on social media on Thursday after the Anaconda rapper took to Twitter to complain about her single Super Freaky Girl being moved from a rap to pop category at the Grammy Awards.
After initially lambasting the Grammy’s decision, the 39-year-old rapper and singer appeared to bring Latto, 23, into the discussion when she claimed that her song Big Energy should also have been moved to the pop category.
The tweet launched a back-and-forth between the two artists that quickly escalated, with Latto poking fun at Nicki’s age and pointing out that her husband Kenneth Petty previously pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted rape in the 1990s.
Nicki’s complaints about the Recording Acadmy began on Twitter and with a video she posted to her Instagram Stories on Thursday.
She brought Latto into her grievances with her initial tweet, which referenced the rising rapper’s song Big Energy: ‘I have no problem being moved out of the RAP category as long as we r ALL being treated FAIRLY. If SFG has 2B moved then so does “Big Energy”! ANY1 who says diff is simply a Nicki hater or troll.’
In her Instagram video, she suggested she was being set up to fail by being nominated alongside such disparate artists as ‘Adele and Harry Styles.’
‘They stay moving the goalposts when it comes to me, because in order for them to uplift the people who they want to shine,’ she said. ‘The people who these corporate giants can make the money off of; the people who control a lot of things behind the scenes — they have to elevate someone that they profit off. They must move the goalposts for me, all the time.’
She added, ‘What do you think is gonna happen when they start voting on these pop categories and its a bunch of these people … white and older, wherever they’re from,’ to have to choose between her and stars such as Adele and Harry Styles.’
Nicki also added in the video that Super Freaky Girl and Big Energy shared the same producers, which she saw as more evidence that both songs should have been considered pop if either of them were.
Latto was initially defiant and focused on her own success after noticing Nicki’s tweet about her song.
‘Damn, I can’t win for losing,’ she tweeted, though she didn’t mention Nicki’s name or posts. ‘All these awards/noms I can’t even celebrate.’
In a since-deleted tweet, Nicki snapped back and called Latto a ‘Karen’ while suggesting the younger rapper was ungrateful to an idol.
‘This Karen has probably mentioned my name in over 100 interviews,’ she wrote. ‘Says she waited in line for Pink Friday with 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.’
The two apparently messaged each other behind the scenes, with Latto being the first to get in contact, but that wasn’t enough for Nicki (real name: Onika Maraj–Petty), who was upset that Latto didn’t defend her publicly.
But Latto (real name: Alyssa Stephens) didn’t enjoy Nicki singling out her song, and she accused the Super Bass rapper of subtweeting her, or criticizing her on Twitter without using her name.
‘I didn’t wanna do Internet s*** w. sum1 I looked up to,’ she wrote. ‘Just like the 1st time I DMed u asking about ur ongoing subtweets. I wanted to speak up cuz like I said I do agree but the way u going about it seems malicious.’
‘1st of all I texted u cause I didn’t wanna do Internet s*** w. sum1 I looked up to,’ Latto replied, adding, ‘Just like the 1st time I DMed u asking about ur ongoing subtweets. I wanted to speak up cuz like I said I do agree but the way u going about it seems malicious.’
Latto added that she had ‘ignored countless subtweets since March and instead’ kept her discussions with Nicki private.
‘You’re asking why I didn’t speak up in ur defense… it’s the same answer I gave u when u asked why I didn’t congratulate you. Ur literally older than my mom tryna be a bully @NICKIMINAJ,’ she added, referencing the 16-year age gap between the rappers.
Nicki was incensed at the reference to her age and snapped back: ‘Age shaming when you look like YOU the one pushing 40. Age shaming but BEGGING for a feature. Imagine what dem genes gon do in 10 years. Oh so you in your 20s. Ok then. At least it match your album sales. You sold 20K right? Mad you flopped. That’s why u really mad.’
Nicki went on to post what she said were direct messages from Latto.
‘Every DM from scratch off is about a feature,’ she claimed. ‘I was kind every time. But scratch off feels she has pull behind the scenes w/ a few diff white men (won’t name right now).’
In a follow-up tweet, Nicki called Latto an ‘entitled Karen who blames others for her album flopping, while an attached DM showed Nicki apparently claiming she didn’t know why Latto was upset with her.
The rapper claimed that Latto was continuing the online barrage because she was upset that Nicki had previously denied her requests to collaborate.
Latto’s response was to call Nick a ‘super freaky grandma’ and point out that she is ‘married AND related to f***ing rapists,’ adding, ‘You ain’t gone bully me B****!’
Nicki’s husband Kenneth Petty previously pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted rape in 1995 in connection with a September 16, 1994 incident in Queens.
Jennifer Hough filed a $500,000 lawsuit against the couple in 2021 in the U.S. District Court in Eastern New York, accusing them of harassment, witness intimidation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Hough had previously accused Petty of sexually assaulting her years earlier
Nicki replied that Latto ‘Didn’t care about rape when she was begging for features,’ while also accusing her of turning a blind eye to rape allegations against Kodak Black, along with rape allegations against her Big Energy producer Dr. Luke that were leveled by Kesha.
However, Nicki also collaborated with Dr. Luke on Super Freaky Girl.
She also felt the need to clarify that ‘I’ve never raped anyone,’ while calling Latto a ‘BOZO.’
Nicki added in a follow-up, ‘Y’all keep letting these bozos weaponize the WORD raped when they’re being dragged & not holding them accountable for not actually CARING about rape VICTIMS in REAL LIFE.’
Nicki would go on to delete several of her more incendiary tweets.
Although her initial complaints about being moved to a pop category devolved into a feud with Latto, she initially tried to look to historical precedents to defend her case.
‘Unbelievable,’ she wrote while retweeting a post noting that MC Hammer’s Can’t Touch This also sampled Rick James’ Super Freak but was nominated in rap categories at the 1991 Grammy Awards and the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.
However, Hammer’s song is from 1990, making it more 30 years old, and rap–pop crossovers were rarer at the time than they are currently.
