Take it to the Booth: The Case for Female Rap’s Fast-Paced Battleground of Lyrics and Disses

Rap has always been a fast-paced genre where only the smartest and industrious survive. Female rappers are reminding us that they are exactly that. In a world of begging male artists to “take it to the booth” instead of social media, its time we start looking to the girls to see how it's done. 

In 2023, the misogynitic idea that there can only be one “great” female rapper is a claim of the past, as the world of female rap is more diverse than ever. Artists like Latto, Megan Thee Stallion, Sexyy Red, Monaleo, Flo Milli, Ice Spice, Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Rico Nasty, Doja Cat, Glorilla, Fendi Da Rapper, Tierra Whack, Coi Leray, Kash Doll, BIA, Tokyo Jetz, Rubi Rose, Saweetie, Lakeyah, Little Simz, JT & Yung Miami of the City Girls (and so many more), make up a blossoming new space for female rappers and MCs. They are topping charts, finding critical acclaim, and have accumulated numerous high-profile industry awards. In addition, the newer girls that have come up in the last five or so years have also created growing friendships among one another, showing solidarity in numerous ways, from collaborations to shout-outs. For one of the first times in the rap history, the new generation of female rappers is filled with tight knit rapport. But, one thing that these rappers should definitely get their flowers for is that, when it comes to conflicts and fallouts, they present their thoughts and grievances boldly in their music. Let’s take an extended look at the past ten years of female hip hop artists keeping the iconic of the “rap diss” alive.  

The dying remnants of a divided world that haven’t quite left the game

Prior to Nicki Minaj, there was Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Lauryn Hill, and numerous other female rappers that built the stage for female rappers from the ground up. But, when Nicki Minaj entered the spotlight in

the ‘10s, it felt as if she had cleared the room. That didn’t mean she didn’t have to defend her spot though. Nicki Minaj has the iconic shots sent to Lil Kim off of her debut album Pink Friday, declaring boldly “word, that bitch mad ’cause I took the spot? / Well, bitch, if you ain’t shittin’, then get off the pot” to declare her position as the new it-girl in rap. And, in the late 2010s, avid rap fans remember the Remy Ma and Nicki beef, filled with scathing diss tracks and rapid fire lines. Everything from Shether by Remy to Nicki’s disses as a feature on Gucci Mane’s No Love (“You see, silly rabbit, to be the queen of rap / You gotta sell records, you gotta get plaques”) made it one of the most iconic rap beefs of the decade. But, perhaps more impactful on today’s female rap game and its lines drawn in the sand is the contentious friction between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. 

When Cardi B first came to stardom with her hit Bodak Yellow, the two rappers kept their interactions warm and supportive, with Nicki Minaj tweeting a congratulations for Cardi B’s #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

This warmth did not last long, however, as a wedge was driven between the two artists. Controversy surrounded the two artists when they both featured on the Migos’ "Motorsport," when Nicki Minaj reportedly initially had the lyric “If Cardi the QB, I’m Nick Lombardi” and then was asked to change the lyric to the current “If Quavo the QB, I’m Nick Lombardi”. Other small disses have been found in their music, as Cardi B took to social media to respond to Nicki, claiming not to be anybody’s “son” and listeners speculating over the “bury the body (“Bardi”) lyric in Nicki Minaj’s "Ganja Burn" off of her 2019 album Queen. 

But, as the female rap scene continued to invite more and more female rappers in the coming years, both Nicki and Cardi would move on to create lasting bonds and friendships among new artists, further complexifying the fabric of numerous artists’ relationships with one another.

Collabs turn to sneak disses

"Hot Girl Summer" was a great, upbeat collaboration between Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj, and Ty Dolla $ign in 2019, a song released during Megan’s ascent into stardom. The two would both be present in the songs music video and also be found on social media live streams together. However, in the years following, the two artists would turn publicly radio silent about one another. A listener could start to suspect sneak disses in their respective new releases, especially following Megan’s work with Cardi B on the song WAP, a superhit that went #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

On Megan’s 2021, “Outta Town Freestyle” she says “I am not the new her/ I am way cooler,” which some listeners interpreted as a shot at Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj’s 2023 release “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” features a diss at Megan, with the bar “I don’t fuck with horses since Christopher Reeves.” Similar patterns can be seen in Cardi B’s relationship with the City Girls duo, particularly rapper JT, as upbeat collaborations and public support would turn into sneak disses and diss tracks following the City Girls striking friendship with Nicki Minaj.

JT and Yung Miami of the City Girls collaborated with Cardi B in early 2019 with the song “Twerk ft. Cardi B,” in part remembered for its fun, upbeat music video in Miami. The City Girls would publicly state their support for Cardi B over Nicki Minaj in interviews, but, in years following, would also start to make public their respect for Nicki Minaj and hopes for a collaboration with her. 

In late 2022, a time by which Nicki Minaj and JT had publicly built a positive rapport, JT and Cardi B’s relationship found friction, as the two went back and forth on twitter. The next day, Cardi B would change her profile picture to Nicki Minaj’s long time rival Remy Ma, with Nicki Minaj also changing her profile picture to JT for a short period of time. Most importantly, however, these heated interactions would lead to a number of lyrical shots being taken in JT and Cardi B’s coming 2023 singles.

JT would take to her July 14th, 2023 release “No Bars” (on which Nicki Minaj shares a writing credit) to address numerous Cardi B tweets with lines “Bitches always in my business, ‘JT, what you really do?’ /  I be at home playin' fetch by a swimmin' pool / I'm a real big dog, bitch, you a Scrappy-Doo / Doin' all that

wifey shit knowin' he don't fuck with you.” These lines are a direct response to Cardi B’s subtweets calling JT a “lapdog” and telling her to “go fetch” as well as digs at Cardi B’s husband Offset’s public infidelity controversies. The day of the “No Bars” release, Nicki Minaj tweeted numerous lines of the song, particularly the line “Got bitches tannin' for this dark skin,” which could have been Nicki taking a shot at rapper Latto, who Nicki Minaj has had a very public falling out with. (Side note: The interesting thing about this line is, prior to Latto’s fall out with Nicki, Latto and JT were publicly friends. The City Girls did the song “In n Out” together on Latto’s album Queen of Da Souf in August 2020, and Latto would call herself the "third city girl" as a testament to her friendship with JT and Yung Miami. Latto, Glorilla, and JT had all also hopped on Glorilla’s "F.N.F Remix" in 2022. As of right now, there have been few interactions between the artists.)

Cardi B, however, quickly responded on her feature on the track “Jealousy” by Offset on July 28th, 2023, taking numerous shots at JT and the artist’s significant other, rapper Lil Uzi Vert, who has been public about their use of nonbinary “they/them” pronouns alongside “he/him” pronouns. On the song, Cardi raps “Girl, nobody listen to you 'less you talking 'bout me / It's always a bird tryna tweet shit / You offended when I be on defense / They're too worried 'bout me and my n*** / You should worry 'bout the n*** yours sleep with,” implying that Uzi is gay. She brings this theme up again in the verse when she says “How bitches mad? / I'm the number one pick / It's funny, your n*** the one that's a trade,” with trade being a label often used for men who are DL, or in the closet.

Conflicts over music lead to more music

As previously discussed, one of biggest female rap beefs today, which has led to numerous shots taken in the booth, is the conflict between rappers Nicki Minaj and Latto. Latto and Nicki Minaj used to have a very positive relationship just a year or two ago, and Latto used to talk openly about her teen years as an avid Barb and about her love for Nicki Minaj’s artistry. 

However, in early 2023, conflict began when Nicki Minaj’s hit “Super Freaky Girl” was denied a Grammy rap song nomination and instead placed in the pop category, while Latto’s hit “Big Energy” was allowed in the rap category. Nicki Minaj took to Twitter to show her anger, leading to a very public falling out between the two artists. Shortly after this, Latto remixed her song “Put It On Da Floor” with rapper Cardi B (original release in April, remix in May), whose long-time musical rivalry with Nicki Minaj has been heavily chronicled. The song features numerous bars that seem to be disses at Nicki Minaj, as Latto raps “She thought that I would kiss her ass / she must ain't took her meds,” a shot at Nicki Minaj’s age, rumors that Nicki Minaj is a cocaine user (a diss further reinforced by Latto covering one of her nostrils during each of the song’s live performances), and Nicki Minaj’s title as the “Queen of Rap” who requires all new female rappers to pay their respects. 

This track did not just address Nicki Minaj, but also took potential shots at Nicki Minaj’s former collaborator Coi Leray: the two had worked together on the 2022 song “Blick Blick.” On “Put It On Da Floor,” Latto raps “Smokin' on that gas / blunt big as Coi Leray,” which led Coi to take to Twitter to show her anger about body shaming the day of the song’s release. As of July 28th, 2023, Coi Leray has previewed a clip of a new song where she appears to say “hop up on that couch and roll lil’ Latto out the bag,” a direct response to the previous diss. Latto had addressed the issue at Coachella 2023 when she shouted “Coi Leray, I love your body baby” on stage.

Rapper Ice Spice may also have a place in this story. Ice Spice has worked with Nicki Minaj on two tracks

to date, the first being the “Princess Diana (Remix) ft. Nicki Minaj” as well as the “Barbie World” track for the 2023 Barbie Movie. On Ice Spice’s most recent release, the Deluxe version of her EP Like..? aptly titled Like..? (Deluxe), listeners have suspected there are numerous shots at Latto. On the track “Butterfly Ku,” Latto raps “Where she at? / On the floor” among other lyrics throughout the EP where Ice Spice claims to “hit the lotto.” 

Even Doja Cat, who had collaborated with Nicki Minaj on the “Say So Remix” in 2019 that took both artists to their first #1 on the chart, could be chiming in. On her June 2023

single “Attention,” Doja Cat raps “I paid all my respect to those who taught me how to make it / And now I reap the benefits with no confrontation / Y'all fall into beef but that's another conversation.” 

In the meantime, all the artists mentioned have been working, writing, and in the studio. Rappers like Megan Thee Stallion, Glorilla, and Latto have been vocal about their friendships with Cardi, each other, and numerous other female artists. JT and Nicki have been tweeting at each other positively, and fans are suspecting a future collaboration.  

The female rap game, the hottest place to be

Ultimately, the rap genre is flourishing, and these artists are putting their frustration, friendships, and conflicts in the music. Rap has always been, and should be, one of the least filtered genres in the music industry, as the artist’s own voice, rather than sales and charts, is the priority of the genre. As listeners, its not about taking sides, but about appreciating the art unfolding in real time. These are some of the most talented writers and emcees speaking their truth while establishing their place in the industry. Rap has always been a fast-paced genre where only the smartest and industrious survive. Female rappers are reminding us that they are exactly that. In a world of begging male artists to “take it to the booth” instead of social media, its time we start looking to the girls to see how it's done.