Where is the Love?
Bardi Gang vs. The Barbz
Last Friday night, during NYFW, things got incredibly tense at the Harper’s Bazaar ICON party. Like a scene straight out of Love and Hip Hop, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj got into a heated altercation. Although no physical contact was ever made between the two, the night included a barrage of insults, a stiletto being thrown, about a dozen security, and one knot to the eye that can be seen from space.
There’s no doubt, a feud has been brewing between these two beautiful women for quite some time now. For the past year, blogs and fans alike have seemingly been working overtime to pit these powerhouses against each other. I mean, God forbid there be two incredible female rappers out. Even though there’s an infinite number of male emcees. Truth is, since Cardi’s music became bigger, and bigger, and bigger there’s been a problem. But what happened to female empowerment? Lift as you climb? Yaya sisterhood!? Instead we have two talented women made enemies and fighting. How…fucking…cliché.
Nicki and Cardi’s fickle relationship is so multifaceted it would take a book to fully dissect, and we just don’t have that kind of time. Nicki has a long reputation of playing dirty behind the scenes and feuding with her female peers (see here, here, oh and here).
Clearly this is deeper than Nicki saying unfavorable things about Kulture and Cardi’s mothering skills. For one, no one has even seen that baby and two, Nicki and Cardi aren’t friends…WTF would she know about Cardi’s parenting skills? That’s not enough to create LHHNY: Real Life during a high-profile red carpet event. Come on sis, sticks and stones. No, this has to be deeper than that! Money bag deep, reputation deep, “I’ve confronted you repeatedly about this behavior and you’re still with the shits,” deep. Kelly Rowland said in her comment to The Shade Room posted Tuesday:
“In a time where Serena Williams is fighting for equality…it’s no time for us as women to fight…it’s not the time. We have way bigger issues as women.”
That’s beautiful sis, it really is. And I agree, especially if you’re a woman in power. But does that mean you have an obligation to always play nice with your female peers? What happens when everyone doesn’t always play nice? What obligation do you have then?
Unfortunately, regardless of how justified Cardi’s emotions may or may not have been that night, no one will ever really know, and therefore no one cares. Nicki isn’t even seen in most of the videos that night. All anyone sees is the Dominican girl from the Bronx wearing a torn red gown, with one shoe on, attempting to fight her way through a sea of security men three times her size, all while beating herself up in the process. Not a good look for Cardi, and certainly not a win for whatever she was trying to accomplish that night.
Cardi needs a STRATEGY! Because it’s evident that Nicki has one. And that’s to get this “girl from the Bronx” out of the spotlight by provoking her emotions so that she lashes out as the “ghetto” stereotype. Nicki has already gone for the unexpecting victim role, claiming she had, “no idea where this came from,” on Queen radio earlier this week. This is the same woman who called Miley Cyrus out on live national television. And the same woman who threw a week long hissy fit after Travis Scott’s “Astroworld” album hit number one placing Nicki’s “Queen” album at number two.
This past month of Queen radio has shown Nicki to be anything but queen like. She’s a bully. And to be honest, I knew it was only a matter of time before something came up with Cardi. Although I do not agree with Cardi’s form of execution when confronting her bully, this fact remains true: female empowerment simply cannot exist when there are women who would rather devour than empower.
