50 Cent Explains What People ‘Don’t Understand’ About Nicki Minaj, Cardi B Feud

It’s no surprise that 50 Cent has no filter.

In his new Billboard digital cover story written by Carl Lamarre, the veteran rapper shares why he mentored artists like Pop Smoke and DaBaby, and what he thinks of today’s rising hip-hop artists.

“I only like the ones that I see myself in. A lot of the other sh-t, I be like, ‘Yeah, what the f–k is this, man?’ I’ve got to believe them and the sh-t they’re saying to be into the artist. They [also] have to want to be mentored. I’ll talk to them and touch base with them because I see that in them. You go, ‘Yo, you have to focus on what you came for and what’s important to you, and get those things together versus just riding it out.’”

The multi-hyphenate also brought up Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, saying: “The way I had competitive energy: Hip-hop culture makes you battle. I love Nicki Minaj, but the funny sh-t is, I like watching her when she’s upset. I like that because she has something that comes from the experience of living in South Jamaica. I’m looking at it like, ‘Yo, I know they think she’s nuts, but they only think that because they don’t understand.’ I get it. She thinks you’re trying to play her.”

“When Cardi B came, I thought she was dope,” he continued. “She’s from the bottom. She was in Club Lust in Brooklyn. [Going] from that and actually making a hit record and turning into who she did? I don’t know why anybody wouldn’t like to see that. It felt like she got everything — married, the baby — it came really fast. That’s the American dream right there.”

Tensions between Minaj and Cardi B began in 2017. Things turned physical a year later when their entourages clashed and the “Bodak Yellow” rapper got into an altercation with a close friend of Minaj’s while they all were at a Harper’s Bazaar New York Fashion Week event.

That same week, 50 Cent took it upon himself to comment on their beef. While online footage showed Tekashi69 dancing to Minaj’s music in the club, the DJ abruptly switched to “Bodak Yellow” saying, “I’m sorry Nicki, I’m team Cardi B on this side.” Knowing 69 released “Fefe,” his collab featuring Minaj earlier that year, 50 wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post, “No @djspinking that’s female sh-t stay out of that, now Nicki gonna get mad at 69 for turning up, trust me she on her South Side sh-t.”

“When her and Nicki clash, I go, ‘Oh, sh-t, it’s going to be interesting to watch how it plays out,'” 50 said in his cover story. “Lyrically, I won’t say anything competitively about the two of them, but I love Nicki. I don’t have anything against Cardi. I think anyone who comes now, she is going to check their temperature. Nicki is going to check if this b—h is friendly or looking to take over the sh-t.”

Read the 50 Cent’s full digital cover story here.