Breaking Down the Double Standard: Examining Rap Feuds Across Gender Lines

Beef in the hip-hop industry has been an ongoing showdown that dates back decades. Rap is a genre that has flourished off battles and competition. Back in the day, there were limits to how far these disagreements could go, but now that social media and the internet have come into play, rap beef has been revolutionized.

Have rap feuds gotten worse? And how does it differ among genders? Possibly, some of the most infamous feuds were between Tupac and Biggie, Drake and Pusha T, YFN Lucci and Young Thug, and Jeezy and Gucci Mane. But as representation among female emcees surges in the industry, so has rap beef among the group. There’s Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Latto, Ice Spice, Megan the Stallion, etc….and most, if not all, have had their feuds unfold.

Female rapper Saweetie recently said that women’s rap beef isn’t seen as a sport like male rap beef during her sit down with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson on the “Nightcap” show.  Pointing out, that when male artists beef, they are usually encouraged to release diss tracks aimed at their opponent, and their actual talents are judged off those disses. But when it comes to women, well it’s different. Female rap beef doesn’t garner the same reaction; instead, the girls are pushed to be mean and catty.

Fanbases also play a heavy part in keeping the shenanigans going; messy Instagram posts, memes, and comments can be extremely harsh and downright evil when it comes to female rap beef. The conflict between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion got downright hateful after Nicki released “Big Foot” in response to a jab Megan took in her single, “Hiss.”  It got to the point where security had to be increased after fans released the location of Megan’s mother’s burial site, which some blamed Nicki for since she mentions Megan’s late mother in her song. Another example of fans chiming in is when Latto fans allegedly vandalized rapper Ice Spice’s promo billboard in Atlanta after they subliminally got into it on social media and in interviews.

Female rappers gain traction for their beef instead of for their lyrical talents, and in the end, there is no winner. Their beef overshadows their music and breaks down female empowerment and solidarity. But is this a music industry problem or the stereotypical beliefs that women are culturally dramatic and catty? You also have to question if this is just a woman marking their territory in a male-dominated arena.

Sadly, violence has been a result of beef. But there is a positive side to the internet and beef–arguments taking place largely over the Internet means the disputes stay online and out of the real streets, curbing the violence that has tragically plagued hip-hop in the past.