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Rapper and actress Babs recently opened up on how Nicki Minaj established herself as the rap queen over the years. Also known as Lynese Wiley, she has been a member of the hip-hop group Da Band, formed by Diddy, which was active for around two years.
During an interview with online personality Oliver Twixt on March 19, 2025, the latter began by addressing Nicki’s beef with Lil' Kim, and the conversation slowly started to focus on Nicki’s successful career. Notably, Babs was heard saying:
“Nicki just shook up the game, like the whole Nicki Minaj and Young Money and Cash Money Records, you had to be there. Like it was a whole shake up of the game. It was a lot going on.”
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Babs further stated that she won’t hide the truth, saying that many female rappers were reportedly upset with the rise of Nicki in the world of rapping. Although Babs did not disclose the identities of the female rappers, she said that she was also included among those artists. Babs addressed her feelings at the time as she stated:
“I really, definitely, felt away, because it was like choke cold. I’mma tell you why I felt the way because I felt like they was pushing something that I didn’t do and I felt like, you know, I didn’t do what Nicki did. She was just taking over the whole market and I just felt like she made no room for nobody else, even if you was trying to do what she was doing.”
Babs additionally mentioned that in her early days, she witnessed Nicki Minaj climb up the ladder of success and could not do anything except watch it.
Nicki Minaj has called herself the Queen of Rap on one occasion
Back in 2024, Nicki Minaj made a statement that created headlines and led to a lineup of reactions on different social media platforms. A report by the Daily Post in November last year states that Nicki Minaj was questioned on what she was exactly planning for her Halloween. Nicki said in response:
“The same thing I was last year. The Queen of Rap.”
While Nicki did not address anything else from her side about the statement, she appeared for an interview with hip-hop journalist Elliott Wilson in 2018. While speaking to a big crowd at an event, she stated that it was tough to grab the top position among other female rappers who are slowly establishing themselves in the music industry.
Nicki Minaj's interview was available for streaming on Tidal. Additionally in the interview she said that she has been hearing about a female rapper every two years and added:
“To me, it’s silly now to compare me to women. Because there’s no woman to come in right now that – not only cannot out rap me – but realistically can put up the stats that I’ve put up.”
Nicki Minaj has not announced any new album for now. Her last major project was Pink Friday 2, which came out back in 2023. Apart from leaving a positive impression on the critics alongside the fans of the rapper, the album also grabbed a spot on the US Billboard 200 and US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard).
