Does Nicki Minaj have beef with Travis Scott? History of rappers, explored

Nicki Minaj is the queen of rap in her own right. Having spent over a decade and a half in the music industry, Minaj stands at the top of the rap world today as both the wealthiest female rap artist and the most popular rapper on Instagram - among both males and females.

Like any other rapper, Nicki Minaj has had her fair share of feuds with other rap artists, including Remy Ma, Lil Kim, Latto, Cardi B, and Megan Thee Stallion. Another beef that involved Minaj was with Travis Scott, which was highlighted in 2018 as the albums of both artists competed to top the Billboard album chart.

Sabrina Carpenter recently reignited the beef. Here's a look at what happened between Minaj and Travis Scott six years ago.

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Nicki Minaj competed against Scott for the no.1 album spot in 2018

In August 2018, Nicki Minaj and Travis Scott released their fourth and third studio albums, respectively. They subsequently competed for the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot 200 album chart.

Nicki Minaj's Queen was highly anticipated to emerge victorious in the race, which is why it came as a surprise when Scott's Astroworld beat her for the top spot on the chart.

The Super Freaky Girl rapper didn't take the defeat lightly, digging deeper into the matter and finding out that Scott had started selling his album merchandise before its release, which boosted his sales and sent him to No.1. Minaj said this was a violation of rules.

After that, the 41-year-old was enraged about Travis' higher sales of tour passes because Kylie Jenner shared on Instagram that she was "ready for tour" with their daughter, Stormi. She also took to X to talk about it.

Minaj's tweet led to a conflict between the rappers. In an alleged attempt to throw shade at Nicki, Scott bragged about his album at a New York concert, saying:

"Astroworld No. 1 right now, MTV VMAs make some noise!”

It became more prominent at the MTV VMAs that year when Travis Scott, who, with Kylie Jenner, was originally seated behind Minaj, requested other seats for the event. Teen Vogue reported that the couple was placed across the hall beside Cardi B.

However, despite the involvement of Stormi's appearance on Travis' tour in the Minaj-Scott feud, the Anaconda rapper was clear about not having any beef with Kylie Jenner.

Talking about the subject on Queen radio on August 23, 2018, Minaj explained she found it justified that Jenner would take Scott's side in the feud, saying:

"She gotta ride with her man. Why the f**k wouldn't she? We're not gonna make this what it's not... She's a dope girl. This is strictly about music. She has nothing to do with this. My fans are not feeding into this. We love Kylie."

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Minaj reignited her feud with Scott by siding with Sabrina Carpenter

Six years later, Sabrina Carpenter was in a similar race for the No. 1 album this year. Carpenter's sixth studio album, Short N Sweet, was released on the same day as Travis' Days Before Rodeo, his second mixtape, which the rapper re-released on its tenth anniversary.

The Please singer, a self-recognized Barb, drew parallels between her and Nicki Minaj's situation, tweeting on X:

"This is for Nicki."

Nicki Minaj quickly noticed Carpenter's mention and responded by giving her a shoutout in an Instagram Live session in August, with her husband Kenneth Petty in the background.

Later, in the first week of September, when Sabrina's Short N Sweet touched the No.1 spot on Billboard's album chart, Nicki sent her a bouquet of white roses. The Espresso singer shared a picture of the bouquet on her Instagram story later on, showing gratitude to Minaj and saying:

"I adore u @nickiminaj + the barbz :') this is so thoughtful!!!! and these are so beautiful."

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Sabrina Carpenter started her Short N Sweet world tour on September 24, which will conclude in March next year. Meanwhile, Minaj's Pink Friday 2 tour began in March 2024 and will conclude in New York on October 11.