Rapper Nicki Minaj performs onstage at Hot 107.9 Birthday Bash: Pop Up Edition at Philips Arena on ... [+]
Throughout her reign in the 2010s, Nicki Minaj was criticized for seemingly not supporting other women in the world of hip-hop. The self-proclaimed Queen of Rap basked in the glory of being the highest-selling female rapper of all time and expanded her empire into clothing, perfume, and even wine. But after the release of her 2018 album Queen, Minaj took a significant step back from the spotlight to focus on her family — a hiatus she acknowledged in her 2021 track “Fractions”: “I fell back, I had a baby, you know, I did the mother thing, I did the wife thing.”
At the same time Minaj started to pump the brakes on her career, a new crop of young women in hip-hop emerged, some of which were once influenced by Minaj herself. Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Saweetie, and others rose to prominence in the vacuum that Minaj had left, starting with the four-year break between her The Pinkprint and Queen albums.
Afro-Puerto Rican rapper BIA launched her career in 2014 on the T.I.-produced reality show Sisterhood of Hip-Hop, signing with Williams’ record label and releasing her debut mixtape #CholaSeason that same year. She went on to collaborate with artists like J Balvin and Kali Uchis and earn kudos from the likes of Rihanna. BIA’s latest collab, a remix of her hit 2020 song “Whole Lotta Money,” sees the Los Angeles-based femcee join forces with one of her own influences: Nicki Minaj herself.
“Whole Lotta Money” was a standout track from BIA’s 2020 EP For Certain, and it recently garnered renewed attention after Lil Nas X included it in the pole dance portion of his now-infamous SNL performance. On the remix, BIA and Minaj ride the bass-heavy beat with ease and naturally play off each other’s braggadocious energy to create a uniquely “BarBIA” experience.
As queen emeritus of rap, Minaj has hopped on tracks with other well-known female rappers in the last few years — most notably, the remix of Doja Cat’s 2020 smash “Say So” that ended up taking both pop-rap princesses to their first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Minaj’s “Whole Lotta Money” link-up with BIA, then, could be a sign of things to come. Women in hip-hop nowadays are much more inclined to uplift each other rather than tear each other down, and the increasingly progressive hip-hop environment allows much more space than ever before for multiple women to shine at once. Like her onetime idols Lil’ Kim before her, Nicki Minaj is done with asserting her place as the only formidable femcee in the game, and the landscape for women in the industry overall will undoubtedly be much better for it.
