Nicki Minaj faced backlash from Lil Kim fans after making a bold claim about being rap’s originator of fan armies. 

During her talk at Vogue’s Forces of Fashion event in New York City on Wednesday (October 16), Minaj touched on the topic of her ardent fanbase, known as the Barbz. 

According to Nicki Minaj, no other rappers were naming their fan armies until she came on the scene, but now the phenomenon has spread worldwide.

“Before l had a record deal, my fans were making a moment for themselves on Twitter,” she began. “I had already given them a name. In fact, do you know that all these artists that give their fans names now, when I started calling my fans the Barbz, there were no rappers naming their fans.” 

Minaj claimed that outside of rap music, artists like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga had already coined names for their supporters, the Beliebers and Little Monsters.   

“That was it,” she added. “Now every single human being that becomes an artist gives their fans a name. Even artists in other countries.” 

Minaj continued, “I didn’t think it was something that would spread to the Hip-Hop community at all. But it doesn’t matter, because the Barbz are still superior.” 

Lim Kim Fans Dispute Nicki Minaj’s Claims

However, her comments caused a stir on X (Twitter), particularly among Lil Kim fans, with many referencing her La Bella Mafia album. Kim released the project in 2003, which included a track titled “Tha Beehive” featuring the lyric, “Rappers better run and hide ’cause here comes the Beehive.” 

“Maturing is realizing Nicki Minaj’s number one goal is to take credit for EVERYTHING Lil’ Kim contributed to the game,” one user replied. “KIM WAS THE FIRST RAPPER to name their fan base (BEEHIVE) in early 2000s (That’s 20+ years ago!)  sorry nicki the fan base names existed BEFORE the internet.” 

“She’s so delusional,” added another. “Like Lil Kim aint been callin her Fans The Beehive since La Bella Mafia dropped in 2003.” 

It wasn’t just Lil Kim fans responding to Nicki Minaj’s claims. Another person claimed Foxy Brown had a name for her fans while the “Fallin 4 U hitmaker was still in high school. 

“Foxy Brown calling her fanbase Na Na’s in 1996,” they wrote. “It’s really not that serious, Nicki was talking about the internet era.” 

Check out some other reactions below.