Update 21/5/20
There’s been a LOT of conversation worthy stuff going on atm and I haven’t done a UO in a long time so I’m blending this update to make a mini opinion post!
1. Usher calls Nicki Minaj a product of Lil’ Kim on IG Live
The idea of a Nicki v Kim versuz battle was brought up and Usher said that Nicki was a product of Kim. The full clip of what he said is here
My 2 cents:
Well I’m someone who listens to both Nicki and Kim so personally tired of seeing the continuations of their beef 
Kim’s black barbie persona, consisting of her explicit lyrics and high fashion is the blueprint. She was harshly judged when Hardcore came out and she did break down barriers for rappers we see today. Kim did pave the way for Nicki but Nicki is not a product of Kim. Product implies Nicki was “made” by her but Nicki’s skill and work came from her and her alone. Nicki took Kim’s blueprint and made it her own and helped revive female rap for the rest of the 2010s.
Not only have they both moved on from the beef but they’re from different eras. It’s like comparing Saweetie to Eve or Megan Thee Stallion to Remy Ma. Weird and completely random!
Kim made the torch and Nicki kept the flame going. Both are legends. Next caller!
2. Tekashi 69 accuses Ariana Grande of buying her #1
Receipts and timeline
- “stuck with u” debuts at #1 this week
- 69’s “GOOBA” debuts at #3
- 69’s accusation clip
4. Ariana responds on IG and celebrates her #1
5. Justin Bieber responds
6. Manager Scooter Braun responds
7. Billboard releases an official statement
After “stuck with u” by Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande debuted at #1 this week, Tekashi 69 accuses the song of being a bought no.1. Justin, Ariana, Scooter and Braun and Billboard have all responded to his accusations
My 2 cents:
69 is literally a convicted pdf file and his music video for “GOOBA” was proven to have been given views via bots so this is EXTREMELY bold 
Everything this dude says and does should be taken with copious amounts of salt!
Not related to Ariana and Justin but in general, I do think it is possible to if not buy a #1, buy and/or manipulate events to get songs more exposure than usual. The music industry is a shady business and who knows what goes on behind the scenes 
3. Lana Del Rey name-drops Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, Doja Cat and more in a rant about double standards in the music industry
The rant
Who is Lana Del Rey?
Lana is considered the OG alternative pop girl and helped to establish the idea of pop with darker lyrics that covered darker topics with vintage aesthetics. She is referred to as “the queen of alternative” and has helped pave the way for newer alt pop girls such as Lorde, Melanie Martinez and Billie Eilish. Some of her work was considered controversial when it first came out, with songs like “Lolita” being accused of glamorising abuse.
The main gist of the rant is that certain female artists could have explicit songs whilst Lana couldn’t during her prime and was met with criticisms of romanticising abuse. She believes there is a double standard between her and those artists. This is the most recent update “event” so this might get another post.
My 2 cents:
Lovely gowns… beautiful gowns… ahem…
Yeah, no, so much of what she said is debunkable and the only “support” I’m seeing for her statements is YoU cAnT ReAd from LDR stans. Her point is valid but the “evidence” falls so flat. Yes, Lana received backlash for her songs but so did the artists she listed. The gag is Beyonce and Nicki specifically have faced even worse than she has so why they were listed is questionable. What I picked up one was this:
- If she was just addressing her critics then she could have listed the specific publications that were attacking her instead of name-dropping other female artists
- She mentioned “other alt artists” but no names have ever publically attacked her music. Again, if she’s supposedly holding the industry accountable then why didn’t she just do that.
- Nicki and Beyonce have been criticised for longest. Beyonce was harshly judged during the “Lemonade” era calling out police brutality, the “feminism” backdrop incident, the black panther costumes plus the people crying about “Brown Skin Girl”. As for Nicki she was attacked when Anaconda was released, has been made fun of for her body shape and got straight up blackballed from the music industry.
- Doja and Ariana’s 1# songs have nothing to do with the topics she mentioned. Plus it’s very dismissive to reduce some of these artists songs to be just about “cheating” when they’ve sung about the same topics of “being embodied” that she has if not for way longer.
- Nicki and Beyonce were never praised by the industry for being explicit, they were praised by fans who streamed and supported them. The industry has never given these two this nonexistent upper hand. See again: Nicki’s blackballing
- Using the phrase “for the culture” before completely overlooking Nicki and Beyonce’s struggles of misogynoir in the music industry and then asking for “feminism for women that look like me” when historically feminism has always been for women like her is very tone deaf.
- “Can I go back to…” makes no sense seeing as no one was stopping her from expressing herself in the first place.
- All the artists she listed are either hip-hop/rap, R&B or mainstream pop. None of these comparisons are make sense. They’re not even the same genre!
Long story short I have no idea what she was trying to gain with saying that. Again, a lot of it falls flat 
Also I have a feeling Azealia Banks will have something to say about this…
WHEW! My timeline has been a mess this week Lemme know your thoughts!
Tags of people who might be interested
@PensiveShadow @liyahsdiamond @ChaoticDeluge @BrutallyBritish @anon82166736 @ELx @Madilfill @unsungcheerio @Januva
the current theories are Beyonce and Wendy Williams 
People are talking about a collab and I could see it happening seeing as Doja Cat is very versatile. I can imagine them doing a song that either sounds closer to AURORA’s “Apple Tree” or perhaps “Animal” or something that sounds like Doja’s “Streets” or “So High”
