Disclaimer: I am not a die hard fan of either of these women. This is just an analysis of one of the more detailed reasons for their beef.

The controversy surrounding the beef between femme fatale rappers Nicki Minaj and Lil Kim has inspired me to dig deeper into it. Take a more intricate look into the core reasons behind the squabble. At first glance, the root of the problem seems to come partially at least, from Lil Kim resenting Nicki for not giving enough respect to those who came before her. To those who she ahem.. Borrowed her style from. Lil Kim has been quoted as saying things like “Nicki is not paying homage to those who gave her her style; To those who started the female rap game”. While some may argue that Kim does have a valid point as much of Nicki’s style was originated by Kim. It can also be argued that Nicki did give Kim her respect. At least in the beginning.

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Nicki would initially tell people consistently in interviews that Kim was one of the female rappers whom she admired the most. Having been one of the individuals who interviewed Nicki before she became the sensation she is today, I can vouch for that much. Fast forward the clock a few years later and Kim is feeling some kind of way towards Nicki and her success. At first, I thought it was merely the fact that Nicki emulated Kim so much in the beginning. Seeing someone jack your style and then run with it is enough to get anyone in fight mode.

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Then, I thought about it in depth. I also analyzed some of the remarks Kim would make in interviews and even now in her recently released “beef” song against Nicki. The more fitting truth is that Kim is not only annoyed with Nicki for jacking her style, she is more upset because Nicki has been so successful at it. Nicki has been able to take the female Rap game to a new level. She is more than a rap starlet, she is a Pop star. In the music and record label game, Pop stars are more heavily cherished than rap chicks. My girl Shawna over at Brownsista pointed out something substantial to me about this Nicki vs Kim beef. She stated that Nicki saw that the sex kitten female rapper career is short lives. People get bored after hearing about your wet spot on a 100 different songs in 100 different versus. I mean, how many ways can you talk about vagina? After a while, even the men care less and you certainly won’t maintain a widespread female audience for long with that kind of talk. The best maneuver would be to flip your Rap career into a Pop career. To make the two interchangeable so that you are not pigeonholed into one position and easily disposable. This is what Nicki did and Kim did not.

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Sure Kim had a few radio friendly tracks like “Crush On You”, a feature on “Moulin Rouge” and “Get Money” but both were still heavily influenced Rap tracks. She never had her own top 100 radio friendly single that could truly make her cross over into the Pop world. Nicki on the other hand has been smart enough to partner up with the likes of pop sensations like Usher, Will. I. Am, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Sean Kingston and others. Her new album also has more Pop friendly tracks than hard hitting Rap songs. Smart move girl. I don’t recall Lil Kim getting her own MTV special. I have never seen Kim on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine being deemed the new “Queen Of Hip-Hop” as well as other magazines where the audience is more blended.

So the real issue aside from swagger jacking is that Kim may have regrets for not taking her Rap career to the level that Nicki is attempting to. Nicki once said in a recent interview that she wants to be the first female Rap media mogul. She is well on her way. It has got to be hard for Kim to see someone take her style and not only run with it, but do it bigger. Hell, it pisses me off just thinking about it. I’d be equally mad at myself if I was her. Unfortunately, Kim is well into her 30’s and after a jail stint and years in between albums, the demand for her to be featured on a top 100 single has declined. This has got to be a painful realization for Kim.

The questions to ponder are how long should someone be expected to “honor” your influence? At what point does the grasshopper outgrow the teacher? When that happens should the teacher be pissed or take it like a champ? This is easier said than done for most. Not everyone wants to share the throne and they definitely do not want to see someone who adored them and mimicked their every move; move on and move up, leaving them behind.