Usher catches heat for saying Nicki Minaj is a ‘product’ of Lil Kim

Barbz attack the Atlanta crooner for choosing the 'bumble with the Bee' over their Queen in battle

In an Instagram Live chat session with Swizz Beatz, Usher learned the hard way that the Barbz don't play when it comes to their queen. 

May 18, 2020

Hell hath no fury like the Barbz when scorned. 

In an Instagram Live chat session with Swizz Beatz, Usher learned the hard way that the Barbz don’t play when it comes to their queen. 

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After this weekend’s Ludacris and Nelly Verzuz “celebration,” Swizz and Timbaland hosted a few Hip-Hop and R&B legends on IG to talk about different pairings that might be exciting for fans.

Snoop, Busta Rhymes, and Usher all popped out to talk about who they would like to see.

The Ruff Ryders producer mentioned that there were two female battles that he heard people wanted to see and both included Lil Kim. The first was with her Brooklyn rival Foxy Brown and the other potential coupling for his hit series would pit the Queen Bee against Nicki Minaj.  To that suggestion, Usher responded that Nicki is a “product” of Lil Kim. The statement did not go over very well with the Queens rapper’s fans. 

Tons of tweets went out after Sunday night’s comment. One fan enveloped the sentiment of so many of the Barbs, saying Nicki is “making Usher relevant again.” 

Nicki Minaj and Lil Kim have had a long-standing beef that dates back to the mid-2000s. After Lil Kim was incarcerated for lying to federal judges about a shooting incident outside of Hot 97, Nicki took a series of promo pictures for various mixtapes that were similar to Lil Kim’s iconic 1996 poster for her debut album, Hardcore. 

A few years later, both were featured on a Birdman song together where Kim said, “Never be another me/What, you out your mind?”

The beef continued to escalate as fellow artists and collaborators began to comment. By 2010, the women began to openly address each other. Kim accused Nicki of taking subliminal shots at herself and other female rappers. 

Nicki responded by calling Kim a “sore loser.” 

It’s been over a decade and there is no end in sight.

In a 2018 Billboard article, Kim while praising Cardi B for her success, channeled her inner-Mariah Carey and said when asked about Minaj, “I don’t know who that is.”

Usher has worked with both ladies. In 1997, on his My Album, he has featured Kim on his song “Just Like Me.”  In 2010, he recorded  “Lil Freak,” with Nicki on the Raymond vs. Raymond LP, and followed up in 2016 with “She Came to Give it to You” off his Hard II Love project.

READ MORE: Hip-Hop icon Lil Kim wants you to know she’s tired of talking about Nicki Minaj

The Barbz were quick to point out the fact that Usher has collaborated with Nicki more often and more recently. 

While there are tons of people who were angry at the comments, there were also those who agreed that Kim paved the way for Nicki. 

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