Queens rapper and Pink Friday creator Nicki Minaj has always prided herself on writing her own lyrics and was catapulted into a new league of lyricism when she overshadowed Jay-Z, Kanye West and Rick Ross on the 2010 single ‘Monster’. However, Minaj once admitted that Atlanta musician Lil Baby once bodied her on her own track ‘Do We Have A Problem?’
The track was released as a single for her 2022 greatest hits album, Queen Radio: Volume 1 and debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. However, in a broadcast on Instagram Live before its official release, Minaj (real name Onika Maraj) told fans that the My Turn rhymer might have outperformed her.
Lil Baby is undoubtedly one of hip-hop’s most popular hip-hop artists currently. With a knack for putting rhymes together and the power of Coach K’s Quality Control behind him, the rapper (real name Dominque Jones) is a formidable force. As such, it is no surprise that he may have stolen Nicki’s thunder on ‘Do We Have A Problem?’
However, Minaj was far from bitter about it and, during her Instagram Live, sang Jones’ praises, stating, “First of all, I want to just say shout out to Lil Baby! Y’all know I always keep it real about verses and all of that… Lil Baby, he might have… ummm… he might have got me!”
She continued, “I don’t think people didn’t know Lil Baby was nice, but I will say that he pleasantly surprises me all the time. This particular record was just another moment when you could just tell the difference when somebody knows they’re here for a long time.”
During Maraj’s BET Awards acceptance speech for Best Female Hip Hop Artist in 2014, the ‘Anaconda’ performer told fans, “What I want the world to know about Nicki Minaj is that when you hear Nicki Minaj spit, Nicki Minaj wrote it!” Many saw this as a subtle jab at her female counterpart, Iggy Azalea, but she has been consistent in highlighting the importance of penmanship in hip-hop.
That said, when she witnessed Lil Baby writing amazing lyrics, Minaj gave Jones credit, declaring, “The way he pushed himself and his pen, I loved it. He bodied, bodied, bodied. Shout out to him for just being dope and down-to-earth and sweet. All of that.”
You can listen to Nicki Minaj and Lil baby’s collaboration below.
