In recent “news,” rap sensation, Nicki Minaj was completely flamed by the likes of fellow rap colleague Remy Ma. Many people are misinformed by the situation and don’t know the full details of the beef itself. I don’t blame anyone for not knowing or making assumptions, because I too have some questions to propose. However, my questions extend past the Remy Ma and Nicki Minaj beef and go to a question of rapper’s credibility and what it will take for the consumers to put our collective foot down and say, “that is the last straw?”

I have found it necessary when analyzing all rap beefs (old school or new school) to know the full background of the relation between the two (maybe more) artists. To really make a judgment, it is necessary to know the full story, not just part of the story. With that thought in mind, I will give a brief history of Remy Ma and Nicki Minaj’s rap beef before I propose my question[s}.

This beef began back in 2007 when Nicki presumably released a diss track, “Dirty Money,” in which she presumably takes shots at Remy Ma. There was only one line in question, that line being, “Tell that **** with the crown to run it like Chris Brown.” Nicki Minaj also used the instrumental, “Yeah Yeah Yeah,” a Terror Squad (Remy Ma’s affiliate rap group) instrumental to accompany her presumable diss. In the eyes of Remy Ma (and the rest of the public) Nicki Minaj was taking intentional shots at Remy; however, Minaj neither confirmed nor denied it.

Fast Forward to 2008, Remy Ma is sentenced 6 years in prison and the lackluster beef is put on hold. Meanwhile, Nicki’s career sky rockets with the release of her verse on Kanye West’s “Monster” in 2010 and her debut album “Pink Friday.” In 2014, Remy Ma was released from prison; similarly, Nicki Released “Pink Print” which truly solidified her place in the rap community. Since then, Minaj has become a staple in modern day feminism as well as a what most consider (depends on who you’re talking to) an important figure in Hip-Hop today.

Remy Ma, however, has not let any of this discourage her from trying to bring Minaj down a few pegs. In 2015, she released a freestyle dissing Minaj. In the same fashion as Minaj, Remy Ma used her beat, “Truffle Butter” to serve Nicki some trouble. Remy also imitated Minaj’s verse on “Monster” in a cypher. Nicki gave no response causing this beef to go seemingly stale… Stale for two years that is.

It is now 2017, February to be exact. New music is dropping left and right, people are wondering if their favorite artists will be dropping something this year, it seems that, besides petty rap squabbles and relationship news, the rap media is relatively silent. Silent until, Nicki Minaj features on two songs, Gucci Mane’s “Make Love” and Jason Derulo’s “Swalla,” and disses Remy Ma openly for the first time since the presumable beef has started.

The most recent development (not the last) is Remy Ma’s 7 minute diss track accompanied by Nas’ iconic instrumental, “Ether.” Yes, you read that right, Remy Ma used “Ether” to destroy Nicki’s whole existence and she took 7 whole minutes to do it. Nicki’s response has only been in Instagram posts. She posted two pictures one highlighting the fact that Beyoncé has said Nicki is the “rap queen” and another ostracizing Remy Ma’s poor album sales last year. Remy has openly stated that she has another diss track that is to be released in early March, titled “Child’s Play.”

I would like to state that I did not have this information stored in my brain. I don’t follow Nicki or Remy Ma this heavy. The story can easily be Googled and read up on in a matter of minutes. Now that we are clear on the full story thus far, I can ask the questions and propose the dilemma that this beef has presented me with.

The first question that this beef, and so many others in recent rap news, poses is: How do we gage rapper’s credibility? Battle rapping has been present since the inception of rap in the 1970s. It is human instinct to want to be the best at anything under any circumstances. Since rappers are all human (presumably) the desire to be the best rapper has presumably lingered on in every rapper’s mind at some point.

Battle Rapping in the 70s is different than it is today. In the 70s, battle raps were a face to face interaction; a rapper would spit his or her bars to the opposing MC, said MC would respond, and then the audience would decide who won (this is a synthesized example). In 2017, with the overwhelming amount of technology changing the way we consume music, battle rapping has become a longer process. Now when a rapper decides they don’t like another rapper, there are more factors than the rapping involved (too many to list). These factors include: girlfriends or boyfriends, certain slang used, who is having sex with whose wife, etc. After all these factors are considered a rapper may not even elect to drop a proper diss track. Many a rapper decide to say something subliminally in songs in the most passive aggressive way possible. Credible, right?

Despite the major differences between rap beefs in the 70s and rap beefs in the 10s, one thing has always remained the same. When a rapper gets dissed, a response is always necessary. If a rapper gives no response, there are two claims that said rapper is making about their skills as a rapper:

1. You couldn’t think of anything to respond with.

Good rappers are good rappers, but great rappers are more than rappers; they are literary masterminds blessed with the gift of clever wordplay, metaphors, alliteration, imagery, and every other literary device there is. If a rapper cannot think of something to respond with, then they are saying “I am only a good rapper because I could not think of something clever enough to respond with, therefore I didn’t even try.”

2. You felt intimidated by the opposing rapper.

Rappers can become lyrical demons during a good rap beef. It is completely understandable to back down and not want to respond to someone that you feel inferior to and frightened by. If a rapper neglects to respond to a good diss track then it is safe to assume that the rapper feared the opposing MC’s lyrical prowess.

While these aren’t the only factors that make a rapper the “best rapper” they are important, and if you sacrifice even one of those two claims then you cannot be the “best rapper.” Nicki Minaj has made the claim that she is the best just one example is her song titled, “I’m the Best,” where she says repeatedly, “I’m the best. I’m the best.” There is no issue with her stating that she is the best; however, if she is making that claim then her actions need to line up with what she’s saying. Her actions have not lined up with her words. At the very least, Nicki Minaj’s credibility as the “best rapper” is in question.

Not only did Nicki not respond, but I’d like to remind everyone that Nicki started the beef in the first place. She had no reason to presumably diss Remy Ma in 2007 on “Yeah Yeah Yeah,” or in 2017 on “Make Love” and “Swalla.” Minaj clearly wasn’t ready for the response. Every action has a reaction of equal or greater force (this is also a life lesson not just a rap lesson); in the real world, we call that consequence. Minaj should have known that her saying something would cause some type of reaction. If she didn’t have a prepared response, Nicki shouldn’t have said anything at all.

Even though Nicki Minaj is clearly lacking in the credibility department, many are still going to idolize her. “Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar support her,” they will say even though this beef is between Nicki Minaj and Remy Ma. “No one even knows Remy Ma,” they will shout, because the number of fans you have is directly correlated with how good your diss is or if it’s good at all. As much as I’d like the public to really look at Nicki and check her credibility, I know they will not. So, my next question is not about artists, it’s about us… The public… the fans… the consumers.

Consumers (the public that consumes media content, in this case music) hold artists to a too high standard which is dangerous for artists and the consumer. Frank Ocean made a thought provoking comment on the last track of his summer album, “Blonde.” Ocean said, “Now I’m making 400…to stand on my feet momma/play these songs it’s therapy momma/they paying me, I should be paying them/I should be paying y’all honest to god,” he continues in the next line saying, “I’m just a guy, I’m not a god/sometimes I feel like I’m a god but I’m not a god” (Futura Free). Frank really hit the nail on the head.

When rappers are looked at like Gods or above humans in some way, they are immediately given the benefit of the doubt no matter what they do. If artists don’t have to be responsible for their actions regarding their music, then what’s stopping them from giving us albums that lack substance or quality? Kanye West is a good example. He has released two albums that have arguably been the worst albums of his entire discography (Yeezus and The Life of Pablo). Both of those albums were released after his critically acclaimed “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Before that he released The College Dropout, which many consider to be one of the best rap albums of all time). While West’s actions are disappointing, it’s the consumer that enables him to not produce good content. Consumers enable him by speaking as if “The Life of Pablo” is one of his best albums. Consumers must hold their favorite artists to the standard that they want their favorite artists to be at.

At the very least, rappers (and all artists) should be held to their own words. It is a lot to ask a rapper to please every single fan that they have. However, it is not too much to ask that an artist doesn’t outright lie to a fan. Many rappers do lie to their fans, and while it is messed up that they do, no one is making any statements telling them that they won’t support a liar. The fact of the matter is, consumers simply don’t care about if their favorite artist lies. If there is content, of any kind, to listen to no one cares. It is time to transition into a period of demanding that artist respect the people that they music for.

As Frank Ocean stated in “Futura Free,” the consumers are the ones who should be getting paid. Every rapper makes music for the fan. If they didn’t make it for the fan then the music would not be heard by the fans. Furthermore, if artists did not want the fans to be entertained by their music, then they would not have such elaborate roll outs for their albums (Blonde, Views, Coloring Book, Wolf, Lemonade, etc.) Without the consumer, there is no artist, so why are we not given our proper pay? Maybe it’s because we have never asked for it.