Speaking with Billboard yesterday, T.I. addressed the still-developing beef between rappers Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj, calling it “complicated.”
Earlier this week, Lil Kim remixed Beyonce’s “Flawless” and claimed the title of “Queen Bee” is hers alone. “Am I tripping or did this ho just say my name?” Kim raps. “Queen of Rap? Fuck outta here / Queen’s back, fuck outta here / Time to get this wack bitch up outta here.”
Shortly after, Kim released another diss track in the form of “Identity Theft” in which the veteran emcee again alleges that Minaj’s style is borrowed. “I gave birth to your style, now try to speak to ya mammy/ Your team can’t fuck with my family,” she raps.
Speaking about the self-applied “Queen of Rap” label and the women’s competing claims about their place in the industry, T.I. said that the nature of the disagreement may make it hard to resolve.
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“Just because you heard another person say that you gonna be on edge,” he said. “I feel like that’s more of the case with Kim and Nicki, even though I don’t know what started any of this, it’s a little more complicated to put to bed because of that fact.”
T.I. added that this type of public rift in Hip Hop isn’t exclusive to female artists—”this is something that can happen to men too,” he said—and also spoke briefly on the possibility that Nicki Minaj is defensive after long being compared to Kim.
“It’s gonna put a chip on your shoulder in a different way too,” he said of Nicki Minaj.
On a rumored beef between Nicki Minaj and his own label signee Iggy Azalea, T.I. largely shrugged off the possibility despite a perceived slight from Minaj at the recent BET Awards.
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“That’s a little more preposterous, like, ‘what the fuck?’ because they’re not even in each other’s lane,” he said of the two female artists.
Nicki Minaj is currently prepping her new album The Pink Print, set to be released before the end of the year. Earlier this weekend Lil Kim announced the release date for her frequently delayed mixtape Hardcore 2k14.
RELATED: T.I. Says Iggy Azalea May Collaborate With Lil’ Kim Amid Nicki Minaj Feud Rumor
