Nicki Minaj‘s complaints over Grammy rap nominations sparked a fierce controversy on Twitter. On Thursday, the Queen of Rap called out the Recording Academy for supposedly moving her single “Super Freaky Girl” to the Pop category.
“I have no prob being moved out [of] the RAP category as long as we [are] all being treated fairly,” Nicki tweeted. “If SFG has [to be] moved out RAP then so does ‘Big Energy’!”.
Nicki Minaj Could Still Land a Grammy Rap nod
However, some of Nicki Minaj’s music will still have the opportunity to win a Grammy in the rap category. According to a report by Variety, Minaj may appear in rap nominations, but not for “Super Freaky Girl.” Instead, she may appear for her collab with Lil Baby, “Do We Have a Problem?.”
“The Grammys’ rap screening committee apparently considered this more of a true [Hip-Hop song] and ‘Super Freaky Girl’ more pop in nature, splitting the difference,” Senior Music Writer Chris Willman wrote.
According to Willman, Nicki appears eight times on the Grammy ballot, with “Super Freaky Girl” keeping its place in the Pop category. The Academy also listed Minaj five times in rap categories. She can also earn two nominations in the music video category.
The Queens native’s initial complaints about the nominating process led to a bitter feud with “Big Energy” artist Latto. Over the course of Thursday night, the two women went back and forth on Twitter.
However, only the live version of Latto’s hit track is included in the submissions for Best Melodic Rap Performance. The Atlanta artist could see Best Rap Performance nods for “Sunshine”, “Booty” or “Mind Yo Business.” This means that “Super Freaky Girl” and “Big Energy” likely wouldn’t have competed for Best Rap Performance.
Nicki Minaj has been nominated for ten Grammys over the course of her career, including seven times in the Rap category. But the award has seemingly eluded her each time. Perhaps 2023 will finally be the year.
Written by Olan Bryant