Who is the Queen of Rap?

Since the beginning of this decade, Nicki Minaj has been widely regarded as one of the most successful female rappers, and she is well aware of this fact. Her most recent studio album is titled Queen, and in 2016, she made a guest appearance on Ariana Grande’s song “Side to Side,” in which she declared emphatically, “I’m the queen of rap.”

Nicki Minaj, however, has had a significant rival in the form of Cardi B since the release of the song “Bodak Yellow.” But why can’t there be equal representation for both women?

The majority of rap artists are male. Only two female rappers made it into the top 25 of Billboard Magazine’s countdown of the best of the 2010s, which featured 25 artists. According to a tweet Nicki Minaj published in 2017, “In every industry, women must work TWICE as hard even to gain HALF the respect that her male peers get.”

Minaj was referring to the fact that respect is earned via hard work. While Nicki Minaj has been known as the “Queen of Rap” for at least the past 10 years, the title of “King of Rap” has been passed between Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake multiple times.

Nevertheless, each of these individuals has had a prosperous career while simultaneously existing beside one another and working together. Nicki Minaj, however, has been forced to go in a new direction. Minaj has had to work hard to maintain her status as Queen, typically only working with male artists or other female pop divas to remain relevant.

Although Minaj does not frequently provide other female rap artists with a platform, this does not imply that no other artists are competing with her for the title. You’re likely familiar with Meghan Thee Stallion, Lil Kim, and Iggy Azalea, but Cardi B is undoubtedly the most well-known of her rivals. Since Cardi B first gained widespread attention in 2017, the two artists have been pitted against one another, even though their public personas and musical genres couldn’t be more dissimilar.

Cardi B was left shoeless and with a welt on her head after a fight during New York Fashion Week in 2018, even though the media may have initially invented the competition between the two ladies. Cardi B is the artist that presently has a tune at number two on Billboard’s Top 100, even though it appeared that Minaj was the victor in that fight. And the way that she was able to accomplish this was by collaborating with another female rapper known as Meghan Thee Stallion.

Is it safe to say that Nicki Minaj still reigns supreme as the “Queen of Rap,” or is Cardi B poised to overthrow her and claim the title for herself? It doesn’t matter who’s on top; what’s most important is that women are now obtaining the place in the rap game that they deserve.