Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. Photos / Getty
Cardi B is a bootstrapping stripper turned millionaire record breaking rapper.
Raised in the Bronx, in New York, she's achieved a lot in the last eighteen months. She married a hip hop star, had a baby and broken new territory, becoming the first female rapper to have three number 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
But not everyone is a fan. Cardi B and Nicki Minaj are verifiably going at it as the rival rappers came to blows at New York Fashion Week in a wild skirmish that involved hair-pulling and shoe throwing.
Cardi B rolled in with her entourage in a geranium red Dolce and Gabbana gown, with a slew of heavy heavy gold rosaries (as it was worn on the runway). Cardi arrived and posed for photographers and did some flossy red carpet interviews, before storming inside and seeking out Nicki Minaj.
In a fairly alarming video posted by TMZ, you can see the brawl, where Cardi lunges at Nicki. She screams, "B*tch come here! B*tch come here!" over and over, her limbs flailing over a group of people standing between the two rappers.
Yikes! It was quite a scene as the Cardi B and Nicki Minaj fight escalated tonight at the Harpers Bazaar ICONS event. pic.twitter.com/ptR93XIMzh
— PowerStarLive (@PowerStarLive) September 8, 2018
Christina Aguilera had just begun performing. Other reports say Cardi was trying to approach Nicki to talk and her security guard swiftly elbowed Cardi in the face (possibly corroborated by the huge welt that can be seen on Cardi's forehead in paparazzi photos as she is escorted out).
A melee ensues while a bunch of people in couture and fine suits run into the scene and try to break up the fight. Cardi is restrained momentarily while she continues swearing, and Nicki is pushed up against a wall and surrounded by her guards and her entourage, yelling the odd expletive at Cardi's camp. Then suddenly Cardi throws a shoe at Nicki.
"I will f**k you up!" she can be heard screaming.
Cardi was swiftly escorted out of the event by staff, who were reported to be mortified by the fight. They say the event took months of planning, was meant to be the most "exclusive and glamorous party" of the week and was completely overshadowed by the brouhaha.
Police arrived on the scene but no charges were laid. Cardi was photographed leaving the party with a visible bump on her eyebrow. She addressed the fight on Instagram, saying, "I've let a lot of s**t slide! I let you sneak diss me, I let you lie on me, I let you attempt to stop my bags, f**k up the way I eat! You've threaten (sic) other artists in the industry, told them if they work with me you'll stop f**kin with them!!"
Why are Cardi and Nicki feuding? A background
Nicki and Cardi used to play nice. When Cardi's monumental debut single Bodak Yellow went to number one in the US, making her the second female rapper to top the Billboard charts, Nicki sent her a sweet tweet to congratulate her, and Cardi responded saying, "This means sooo much coming from you!!"
In December 2017, the pair collaborated on Migos's track Motorsport, seemingly solidifying the pair as friends. Early into her fame, Cardi downplayed rivalries between female rappers, saying ravenous fans were hungry for drama between famous women.
"It's not even the female rappers that are catty, it's the fans. They just want that beef."
Congratulations to a fellow NEW YAWKA on a RECORD BREAKING achievement. Bardi, this is the only thing that matters!!! Enjoy it💕💞🎀 @iamcardib
— Mrs. Petty (@NICKIMINAJ) September 25, 2017
But in the video for the track, it's obvious the pair didn't shoot on the same day. Nicki shared an explanation, citing conflicting hairstylist availabilities, but Cardi had already given a candid interview about Nicki's verse not being 'finished' and Quavo offering for her to "jump on it. So I jumped on it."
Cardi, who always answers every question she is asked in interviews, and baulks at nothing, offers the explanation that she was starting out, and it was a big opportunity for her. Two days after the interview dropped, Minaj tweeted: "The corniest thing you can be is ungrateful. Give thanks."
The corniest thing you can be is ungrateful. Give thanks.
— Mrs. Petty (@NICKIMINAJ) November 30, 2017
Minaj reflected on the interview on her own radio chat in April this year, expressing regret for supporting her.
"I really fully supported her and up until this recent interview I had never seen her show me genuine love in an interview. I can just imagine how many girls wish they could of been on a song with (me). I'm not saying it in a cocky way."
But six months after their collaboration on Migos' track, Nicki took shots at Cardi's boyfriend (now husband), Offset, in her rap on Katy Perry's diss track Swish Swish(a two for one, as it was also a diss track Katy directed at Taylor Swift): "My life is a movie, I'm never off set / Me and my amigos (no, not Offset)."
Cardi B also accused Nicki of preventing other rappers from working with her, and at the start of the week this was corroborated by Jason Lee on his radio show Hollywood Unlocks. He claims to have the original recording of Cardi B's song Drip, which featured rapper Future, who is now on tour with Nicki.
He says, "The industry is so f*cked up!," going on to claim that Nicki threatened taking Future off the tour if he didn't remove himself from the project with Cardi.
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