SZA Keeps It Cool About Her Online Clash With Nicki Minaj
SZA is not looking to add fuel to the fire when it comes to her brief but loud online clash with Nicki Minaj over the summer. In her new GQ…
SZA is not looking to add fuel to the fire when it comes to her brief but loud online clash with Nicki Minaj over the summer. In her new GQ cover story released on Nov. 6, the Grammy-winning singer took a relaxed and almost puzzled approach to the whole situation, offering a reminder that sometimes the internet can create drama out of thin air.
No Real Story Behind It
According to SZA, the situation was never personal. “I do not know her. We have no connection to each other,” she said. “Like, there was no through line narrative. It was just like, ‘Roc Nation’... I do not know where it came from.”
The back and forth began in July when Minaj thought SZA had indirectly commented on a post involving Terrence “Punch” Henderson, SZA’s former manager. Minaj responded aggressively on X, at one point saying SZA “look[ed] & sound[ed] like she got stung by a f---ing bee.”
SZA told GQ she did not feel the need to fight about something she had nothing to do with. “That’s not even my place to correct a narrative that I do not got s--- to do with,” she said. “It was a little strange. It was very like, ‘Why?’ But also, you know ‘I guess.’”
Choosing Peace Instead of Noise
While Minaj continued posting, SZA decided to step away. She wrote on X, “I do not give a f--- bout none of that weird s--- you popping… Lmao lemme go back to being calm shy and meek.”
Minaj then shifted to criticizing SZA’s music releases, specifically the deluxe version of her album SOS, writing, “B---- put out a whole new album as a deluxe to an already existing album… I thought she was like a real artist? Girl bye.”
She also claimed that if every SZA song disappeared, “the music business would not even miss her,” saying she had visited countries “that never heard of [SZA].”
Receipts and Reminders
SZA responded not with insults but with a screenshot. She shared a text exchange from 2020 where Minaj asked her to feature on a song called “Do not Do.”
“Nicki. You absolutely know my music and what I contribute cause you have asked for features twice to no response,” SZA wrote. “In addition to rapping my lyrics on feeling myself ‘cooking up the bass looking like a kilo’? Lol ur having a moment .. im not sure why but be blessed.”
SZA co-wrote “Feeling Myself,” Minaj’s 2014 song with Beyoncé. Minaj later resurfaced old tweets of SZA that appeared to shade Beyoncé and Rihanna, adding more layers to the online dust up.
A Bigger Conversation
By October, Cardi B stepped in with her own commentary on X. “Girl STFUUU done beefed with every black woman in the industry like girl who tf beef with SZA??”
Where Things Stand
From SZA’s perspective, there is no grand rivalry and no lingering grudge. She simply seems confused more than anything, and she is comfortable choosing calm over chaos.
And maybe that is the real message here: not every loud moment deserves a loud response. Sometimes stepping away is the strongest thing you can do.
