If you could score my Twitter mentions over the past 48 hours, the shrieks of a whining newborn baby would perfectly encapsulate all of the He-man-woman-haters and Drake devotees who found themselves pissed at me for being honest.
The tweet in question is:
Drake using Meek being comfortable dating someone more successful than him is some sexist bitch shit, honestly.
I don’t need anyone to explain to me the way rap beef works. Nor do I require anyone to remind me of how the hippity hop is battered and deep fried in misogyny. I’m aware, but that doesn’t debunk that Drake leveling Nicki Minaj’s success as a pejorative against the man she’s very clearly in love with was a lazy diss. It’s a pretty shitty thing for a friend of Nicki’s to do, too.
However, this beef and everything that comes with it—namely the use of Nicki Minaj as chess piece—is all Meek Mill’s fault.
Hopefully, Meek learns a few things from this embarrassing episode. The most important lesson being this (pay close attention, y’all): When deciding to try and publicly ruin someone’s career, it pays to consider whether or not your significant other might find him or herself in the crosshairs. Meek Mill seemingly had no concerns about the political entanglements that might result in him coming for the neck of his girlfriend’s friend and co-worker. It’s no wonder why some are calling on Nicki Minaj to dump him. Like, if you don’t know how to act on social media, you probably don’t know how to act around Beyoncé and Jay Z.
So: Meek Mill started a beef with a wittier and more widely popular rapper over some dumb shit that was probably a misunderstanding. Drake then uses Nicki Minaj as a weapon in this ridiculous ass beef despite Drake being friends with Nicki Minaj. Meek Mill can’t even win the dumb ass beef he started, embarrassing himself and making it supremely awkward for Nicki Minaj the next time she runs into Drake.
All of these men are garbage. If you think using a woman’s success to emasculate and belittle a man isn’t sexist and trite, you’re trash, too.
All of these men are garbage. If you think using a woman’s success to emasculate and belittle a man isn’t sexist and trite, you’re trash, too. I don’t care how much that truth nugget slathered in Sriracha stings.
What’s most interesting about all of this is that if she really wanted to, Nicki Minaj could destroy them both.
As far as albums go, Drake would more than likely win the popular vote given his sound is more cohesive (and for an album, that does indeed constitute “better”). Even so, that doesn’t necessarily make him a superior MC to Nicki. Nicki is often the star of any track she jumps on, and her collaborations with Drake are no different. Sure, there is a schizophrenic-like quality to Nicki’s catalog, but a lot of that has to do with circumstance (a female rapper trying to not only be recognized in a world that had all but forgotten about rappers like her, but to also thrive commercially in and out of that world) rather than talent.
She is no less witty if not wittier than Drake. She is far more relentless when she decides to unleash on a target. Look no further than her beef with inspiration turned nemesis Lil’ Kim. Nicki didn’t get as much attention as Drake did for how she repeatedly and very aggressively tried to snatch every colored wig Kim has ever owned. That, too, can be attributed to gender politics: the reality that women rappers often get far less credit for being just as good if not better than their male counterparts over the same activities.
I enjoy watching Nicki and Drake together, but I do wonder what it would be like to see Drake get a dose of his own medicine. The theme in his art is often “boo hoo, girl did me wrong.” Maybe Nicki can help enlighten him as to why that happens sometimes given his use of Nicki as weapon.
As for Meek Mill, well, you’ve heard his first diss track and his threat of giving 6 God a wedgie. Need I say more about how she could easily eat him alive? I highly doubt it’ll happen, but I sort of wish she would entertain the thought. The two of them could use a few lessons on how to treat a woman, your woman, and your friend.
Michael Arceneaux hails from Houston, lives in Harlem, and praises Beyoncé’s name wherever he goes. Follow him @youngsinick.
