Are Nicki Minaj and Trina feuding? Controversy surrounding their 2019 collaboration explored
Nicki Minaj is not only a celebrated rapper in the music industry but also the wealthiest and most popular of all female rappers in the world. As is natural for any rapper, Minaj has had her fair share of feuds with fellow artists.
Among the most controversial feuds of the Pink Friday rapper's career include that with Remy Ma, Cardi B, and the one that's still a hot subject - Megan Thee Stallion. Six years ago, Nicki was embroiled in yet another controversy regarding a collaboration she had with Trina.
In the wake of the collaboration, a team member of Trina bad-mouthed Minaj in an Instagram rant, calling her a "deceiver and manipulator." However, the Single Again rapper was quick to clarify that she and Nicki Minaj were not feuding and took the blame for her team member overstepping his boundaries, saying in an Instagram Live session:
"My team speaking out, my team got so much to say, I’ma take the blame for my team ‘cause guess what, me and my team, we dropped the ball."
The controversy was rooted in their 2019 collaboration, BAPS, from Trina's sixth studio album - The One. Before BAPS, the two artists have also collaborated on other songs like Dang A Lang, S** in Crazy Places, and 5 Star (Remix).
The 2019 controversy started with Reginald Saunders badmouthing Nicki Minaj
On June 19, 2019, Trina released BAPS - a collaboration with Nicki Minaj. On the same day, the Swalla rapper's Hot Girl Summer (a collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion) was also released.
Reginald Saunders, the A&R Executive of Trina's Rockstarr Music Group, who got the sense that Nicki Minaj wasn't making enough of an effort to promote BAPS, given her attention was divided with Stallion's collaboration, badmouthed her in an Instagram post, writing:
"This isn’t the first time @nickiminaj has pulled this stunt and trust me it’s cool. I can’t get over how fake people can be for a Lil fame , likes and followers. I can’t wait to see how all of this is about to play out because you can’t stop karmas reign, shame on you .. I mostly feel sorry for the #barbs because they have no clue of the deceiver and manipulator their leader is."
While the post was taken down soon after it was posted, it didn't escape the Hey Mama rapper's notice, who addressed it on the next episode of Queen Radio, saying:
"For your team or anybody’s team to feel like I owed you anything or to go out and disrespect me because I’m showing love to another female and you’re not gonna check them, then that’s not cool."
TMinaj then went on to admit that despite dropping her own song the same day as Trina's BAPS, she had offered the rapper a chance to come and promote her album on her radio show, which she said she didn't have to.
Nicki Minaj then added that she wasn't "entitled to do anything for anyone." She also pointed out how no one ever went out of their way to "jump in front of the hate train" for her.
It was evident that the Anaconda rapper was unhappy with Saunders' remark and believed that it was Trina's responsibility to control such behavior. Her heated remarks on the radio show also led to rumors of a feud brewing between the rappers circulating online.
On August 14, 2019, Trina took to her Instagram Live to clear up the rumors about the feud and called out Saunders publicly, saying:
"You’re not gonna disrespect Nicki Minaj or nobody else that’s on my album because these people did this off my face and my favor."
The Single Again rapper then went on to reveal that none of the collaborations on her recent album, including the one with Nicki, were done in exchange for money, saying:
"Every feature on my album are people that believed in me, that did favors for me. I didn’t pay for these features. They were favors. Do you know what a favor is? That means I f*** with you, that’s why I did this favor."
Towards the end of the live session, Trina also admitted that the promotion of her album was her job, and not anybody else's. She added that she believed Nicki Minaj had "done her part," which she respected, and didn't expect anything more from her.
While Trina's honest confession and her stepping up to take accountability dismissed the likelihood of any feud between the rappers, the two haven't collaborated since.
