Hot 97’s Summer Jam, where Nicki Minaj’s pioneering female headlining set on Sunday was beef-stricken and canceled, is the same event where Jay-Z ripped Nas apart with the debut of “Takeover†in 2001. Nas’s response? To come back with the arguably more destructive “Ether.â€
Eleven years later, like it or not, that script goes down like this: Hot 97 D.J. Peter Rosenberg goes onstage hours before Minaj’s scheduled performance, calls her crossover megahit “Starships†“bullshit,†and alludes to its singer’s lack of a place in the canon of “real hip-hop.†Minaj’s “Ether,†here? Verse One) A Lil Wayne-mandated kibosh on her headlining spot, which would’ve featured Lauryn Hill, Nas, Lil Wayne, Foxy Brown, 2 Chainz, and Cam’ron. Verse Two) A lot of tweets — mad tweets, nonchalant tweets, and retweets of supportive and irate fan-tweets. And, finally, Verse Three) A very, very long argument with Hot 97 Funkmaster Flex — who joined the fray after Minaj’s cancellation by proclaiming live at Summer Jam that “we ain’t fuckin’ with commercial rappers no more†and “I’m dedicated to tearing you down.â€
Here, the five best moments from that on-air beef. Flex had a couple good bits and maybe half an okay point in there, but he was wayyy too aggressive and loud and interrupting and point-missing to land any moments over Minaj — these are all her.
• “I’m a grown-ass woman, and everyone is grown enough to keep their opinions to themselves in order to give people a great time. I’ve traveled all around the world, and people come with one agenda, and that is to have a good time. Not to have their favorite artist be ridiculed or be made fun of. I am not a joke.â€
• “There hasn’t been one single solitary human being in the history of the world, a female rapper, to sell more than my first or second album in the first week.â€
• “When you disrespect Nicki Minaj — and I don’t care if it was in front of 2,000 people, which can equate to 2 million people when it’s streaming live — you’re disrespecting my fans. See, I don’t have a problem with anyone saying what they have to say to me. But don’t make those 3 million people that downloaded ‘Starships’ or whatever they downloaded, don’t make them feel like they’re inferior in any way for their personal taste in music.â€
• “If it’s all love and you want the fans to see everyone, know that Nicki Minaj sold a lot of tickets for yesterday, and know that she deserves love and respect. And for you to single out one female on the bill, if that’s not some bitch-ass shit — for this person to single out the only female on the bill? I’m holding it down for women.â€
• “THERE ISN’T A BITCH ALIVE — and when I say bitch I’m including men, because when they act like that they’re bitches — there isn’t a human being alive, that God has created on this planet earth, that could scare me out of doing a show. I get money. I get money.â€
There you have it. This is 2012, and this is beef. It’s also worth noting that Minaj says she’ll make up the cancellation with a free hometown show in NYC this summer.