Nicki Minaj Fans Lose It After Usher Compares Her To Lil Kim

Ever since Nicki Minaj popped up on rap blogs over a decade ago, she’s drawn comparisons to her predecessor Lil Kim. However, over time, she’s built her own formidable legacy, as well as a zealous fanbase of Barbz who will often go way out of their way to defend it. Combined with her much-publicized feud with Kim as Nicki came into her own and Nicki’s tendency to rewrite her own history on the fly, it’s reached the point that even the insinuation that Nicki could have been influenced or inspired by Kim draws vigorous attacks from the Barbz — even in the face of facts and evidence to the contrary.

The latest example is the Barbz’s reactions to R&B star Usher’s recent interview with Swizz Beats, the founder and the curator of the ongoing Verzuz Instagram series of “hits battles.” When Swizz asked for Usher’s impression of a fan push to feature Nicki and Kim on Verzuz, Usher seemed skeptical that it would be a fair battle, considering Kim’s impact on so much of Nicki’s music and style. “Nicki is a product of Lil Kim,” Usher said. That was all it took to spark a backlash from Nicki Minaj fans, who immediately set about comparing Nicki’s accomplishments to Kim’s — free of historical context, naturally.

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Nicki fans were quick to point out Usher’s connection to Nicki over the course of the past few years, as Nicki had featured on some of Usher’s own hits. They also lashed out at Lil Kim for not having a major hit in recent years. However, some fans readily defended both Kim and Usher’s comments, pointing out the many ways Nicki has paid homage to Kim in the past, despite their differences.

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One thing is for sure: If the two women ever were to agree to a hits battle, the results wouldn’t be as cut-and-dried as fans of either seem to think — and would seemingly depend most on which side of their generational gap an observer stood upon.

Check out some of the Barbz’s reactions to Usher’s comparison above.