Memphis Bleek knows JAY-Z about as well as anybody in hip hop. He was Hov’s right hand man during the peak of Roc-A-Fella Records. When he has something to say about the man, there’s a lot of street cred that comes with it. This is why Memphis Bleek’s input on September 10 was so welcome. The hip hop world was still shocked by Nicki Minaj‘s vitriol towards JAY-Z after the Super Bowl Halftime Show controversy. It seemed to come out of nowhere. According to Bleek, though, there’s a specific reason why Minaj despises JAY-Z.
Memphis Bleek took to Twitter to present his theory. He didn’t air out Nicki Minaj, or even call her out by name, but the message was pretty clear. The rapper reposted a Hot 97 clip of JAY-Z talking way back in 2009. The Roc-A-Fella co-founder claimed that fellow artists only get mad at him whenever he fails to do something for them. “They don’t say I did anything to them,” JAY-Z says in the clip. “They say I didn’t do something for them.” Memphis Bleek implies that Nicki Minaj is one of the artists who fall under this tired pattern. “N**gas is mad mad,” he added.
Memphis Bleek Thinks Nicki Minaj Is Acting Entitled
Memphis Bleek may have a point. Nicki Minaj and JAY-Z both hail from New York, but there has never been a particularly close dynamic between them. Minaj and Hov rapped together on Kanye West’s hit “Monster” in 2010, but have never appeared on each other’s respective albums. Nicki Minaj also said that she wanted to “dethrone” JAY-Z during a 2012 interview with Allure Magazine. She explained that she made her bold proclamation to the rapper’s face during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m coming for you,'” Minaj recalled. “‘I’m coming for your spot, Mr. Mogul.'”
It doesn’t help, of course, that Nicki Minaj’s boss, Lil Wayne, and label mate, Drake, has also had tense dynamics with Hov over the years. Roc Nation and Young Money don’t seem to mix, which does support Memphis Bleek’s theory. The notion that JAY-Z didn’t pick Weezy for the Super Bowl Halftime Show, or the Young Money crew as a whole, is an instance of him not doing something for Minaj. There’s decades of additional history and context to take into account. At the end of the day, though, Bleek’s theory is still pretty solid.
About The Author
Elias is a music writer at HotNewHipHop. He joined the site in 2024, and covers a wide range of topics, including pop culture, film, sports, and of course, hip-hop. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Friday, especially when it comes to the coverage of new albums and singles. His favorite artists are Andre 3000, MF Doom, pre-808s Kanye West and Tyler, The Creator. He loves L.A. hip-hop but not L.A. sports teams. The first album he ever bought was Big Willie Style by Will Smith, which he maintains is still a pretty good listen.
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