Are rappers Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj currently in a feud? Rappers have a propensity for getting into rap battles and beef, so it would not at all be surprising if the once-collaborators were headed for murky waters. Tracing the footsteps of Kendrick Lamar and Drake, whose recent feud resulted in juicy diss tracks and razor-sharp callouts, Minaj and Ice Spice’s friendship appears to be on the rocks — and we have the juicy details.
Just one year after her iconic collaboration with Taylor Swift for Karma, Ice Spice (born Isis Naija Gaston) appears to be in trouble—or at least, her career is. Having lost an estimated 540,000 followers over the past few days, the Bronx-born rapper now appears to be beefing with former collaborator and fellow rapper Nicki Minaj.
Collaborators, frenemies, and an alleged fallout
Both Minaj and Spice have garnered much media attention in recent days; notably, Minaj was recently arrested in Amsterdam on suspicion of possession of narcotics. Likewise, Ice Spice has also come under media fire for controversies related to her Y2K tour, fights with fellow musicians Cleotrapa and Baby Storme, and accusations of copyright infringement for her song In Ha Mood.
The rumours of their feud first came to light when fans noticed that Minaj had unfollowed Ice Spice and fellow rapper JT. Minaj had famously worked with Spice on Princess Diana and Barbie World, the latter of which had featured prominently in Greta Gerwig’s award-winning film Barbie (2023).
The allegations of the growing rift hit harder when one considers Minaj’s role in inspiring Ice Spice’s own career. The latter has long credited Minaj for showing her the path to success, saying, “When I saw Nicki, I was so mesmerised. She’s the first female rapper that I’ve seen. And ever since then, I was kinda set on what I wanted to be.”
At the start of the year, Ice Spice had looked primed for success in what appeared to be a burgeoning career. Her first taste of fame came in 2021, when she went viral for posting a rendition of Erica Banks’ Buss It challenge. Following the explosion of her video, the TikTok breakout star met with record producer RIOTUSA, who produced her debut song Bully Freestyle.
By August 2022, the new rap darling of TikTok had released Munch (Feelin’ U). The track quickly went viral on the platform, charting on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Bubbling Under Hot 100. It bears noting that the song also got a shoutout from Drake, who played it on his radio station Sirius XM. At the height of her career, Ice Spice was performing with the best in the game, from Taylor Swift and PinkPantheress to Aqua, and of course, Nicki Minaj herself.
So, what happened?
What could have caused the Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj feud?
The Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj feud has its roots in yet another antagonistic relationship — that of Ice Spice with her former best friend Baby Storme. In May of this year, Storme lived up to her name by exposing Spice, unleashing a torrential downpour of piping hot gossip.
The salacious details, which were posted in an X thread, alleged that Spice was fatphobic and colourist, and that she had bullied Storme in school whilst using her connections and resources to get ahead. Storme also alleged that Spice forced everyone in her life to sign an NDA, adding, “But the only person I’m signed to is God. So I will speak the truth.”
the next person to be exposed will be my ex “best friend,” Isis. or as y’all know her, ‘Ice Spice.’ pic.twitter.com/4XiOewWiiF
— Baby Storme (@babystorme_) April 27, 2024
The allegations were damning as they were, but Storme was far from finished. She went on to share that Spice had cheated on her producer and boyfriend RIOTUSA with Lil Tjay. Storme then leaked screenshots from a conversation with Spice, in which the latter expressed her frustration at negotiating with Nicki Minaj for Barbie World. The screenshots also reveal that Spice had been fighting with Minaj over publishing rights, with Spice calling referring to Minaj as ‘ungrateful’ and ‘delusional’.
— Mílagro (@MobzWorld) June 29, 2024Ice Spice opens up about those text messages her ex best friend Baby Storme leaked accusing Nicki Minaj of being ungrateful, jealous, and delusional:
I’m tempted to engage, but I realized you’re just going to give it legs to grow and run with. I like your focus on what I can… pic.twitter.com/GHS9gy72X1
Ice Spice has since come forward to address the leaks, copping to them in an interview with Rolling Stone. “What I said in those texts was just in a moment of frustration around contract negotiations. I could have [chosen] different words. But at the end of the day, regardless of how I felt in that moment, [Nicki] is still somebody I respect as an artist, and I’m always going to admire everything she’s done for me and the culture.”
Speaking on her present relationship with Minaj, Spice shared, “We don’t have the closest relationship, you know? But we’re definitely good. We’re mutuals. We had smash records together. I love us together. I think the world does too.”
— Local Gossip (@LocaIGossip) August 22, 2024Here’s audio of Nicki Minaj rambling about the rap girls preferring to sign to a reputable label instead of her non money making label, HOI.
The reason why she fell out with JT and Ice Spice. pic.twitter.com/8gu7bBClsI
For anyone paying a sliver of attention, Minaj does not appear to share that sentiment. Last week, the rapper made some eyebrow-raising comments in an impassioned rant which found its way online. In the voice clip, Minaj can be heard complaining about rappers signing with white-owned record labels instead of her label, Heavy On It. “Motherf–cker tell somebody they don’t want to sign with Heavy On It. But then they’ll go and sign with the white peoples.”
Nicki Minaj just unfollowed JT and Ice Spice… pic.twitter.com/WzJ83AakBZ
— mazzy (@mazzypopstar) August 21, 2024
Fans believe the rant to be a public callout of Ice Spice, who is signed to 10K Projects, a Los Angeles-based independent record label under Warner Music Group. And now that Minaj has unfollowed Spice, it is a fair assumption that the duo will not be collaborating again for the foreseeable future.
(Main image: icespice/Instagram, nickiminaj/Instagram; featured image: icespice/Instagram)
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
