Nicki Minaj has called for a cease-fire between her fans and the rest of the music world.
In what might be the final chapter of the stan culture wars of the 2010s, Minaj, 40, told her notoriously loyal followers — a.k.a. the “Barbz” — that it’s time for a change. With her fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2, dropping next month, the “Super Freaky Girl” rapper issued a decree on her Instagram Story, calling for her fans to stop trolling, harassing and shading anyone who may have insulted their queen.
“Dear Barbz, be sure to never threaten anyone on my behalf,” she wrote. “Whether on the internet or in person. Whether in jest or not. I don’t [and] never have condoned that.”
Minaj apparently wanted her fans to focus on the positive, with Pink Friday 2 arriving on Friday, December 8. “We have an amazing album right around the corner,” she wrote. “It feels so surreal [and] euphoric.” Minaj then concluded her message by wishing “blessings on blessings” to all her Barbz.
It isn’t clear if there was a recent comment that caused Minaj to tell her Barbz to stand down. Some fans, however, have speculated that Minaj dissed Megan Thee Stallion after the latter released “Cobra.” After Megan, 28, debuted the song on Friday, November 3, Minaj tweeted the “Mourinho Disgust” meme without context. The meme, which shows soccer coach José Mourinho ripping off a pair of headphones, is often used to show disgust over music or other offending audio.
Many fans, noting the timing, took it as a dig against Megan. Though the two rappers worked together on 2019’s “Hot Girl Summer,” there have been rumors of a falling-out ever since Megan teamed with Cardi B for 2020’s “WAP” and, more recently, “Bongos.”
While “stan culture” has been a hot topic for the past several years, musical rivalries existed long before the rise of social media. The “Rivals” podcast and Steven Hyden’s book Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me both show how beef extends beyond the Tupac Shakur vs. Biggie Smalls, West Coast-East Coast feud all the way back to the Rolling Stones vs. The Beatles. However, as NPR’s “All Songs Considered” detailed in 2019, the rise of platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and more have galvanized these fandoms.
“If motivated enough, stans that congregate on social media actually can change the trajectory of their artist’s path — and the life of anyone who stands in the way,” wrote host Sidney Madden. “This shift in power dynamics can even dictate what kind of music the artist makes, how they perform it and who gets to hear it.”
Minaj has maintained a relatively low profile ahead of the release of her album, the highly anticipated follow-up to 2018’s Queen. Initially set for a November 17 release date, Minaj pushed the album back to her birthday, December 8, to avoid any competition with her longtime mentor, Lil Wayne. Wayne, 41, will drop Welcome 2 Collegrove, his joint album with 2 Chainz, that day.
