Latto Can't Be Compared To Nicki Minaj, Says Lil Mo

Latto has not accomplished enough or even been in her career long enough to draw comparisons to Nicki Minaj, R&B veteran Lil Mo said recently.

The “Superwoman” singer joined Carolina Panthers star Cam Newton for his Funky Fridays interview series on Friday (January 6), where the conversation quickly turned to the state of “female Hip Hop.” Newton kicked off the chat by asking Lil Mo if she feels women who rap offer the game enough diversity.

“Judging off the comments sections, and I’m not gon’ even lie, Imma just be upfront: a lot of people do look alike, they doing the same thing,” she started. “But the camaraderie among these females nowadays, I respect that. Because we haven’t seen that in a long time. You haven’t seen that since Queen Latifah, Monie Love, MC Lyte and all of them was on ‘Self-Destruction.’ So now that a lot of girls are collaborating, I rock with it. I fuck with it heavy.”

Cam Newton went on to question the authenticity of the support today’s women in Hip Hop are showing each other, pointing out that, in many instances it seems as though the artists themselves are forcing their fans to choose sides. He explained that, what lead him to ask her this question was the recent back and forth between Nicki Minaj and Latto.

The feud began when Nicki Minaj’s Rick James-sampling “Super Freaky Girl” was denied eligibility in the rap categories at the 2023 Grammy Awards and instead put forward for Best Pop Solo Performance by the Recording Academy, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Nicki voiced her displeasure with the decision on social media and argued Latto’s “Big Energy,” which also leans heavily on an ’80s pop sample, should compete in the pop categories as well. Latto seemingly responded to Nicki’s complaint by tweeting: “Damn I can’t win for losing… all these awards/noms I can’t even celebrate.”

From there, things escalated into a messy — and more direct — back-and-forth laced with insults, accusations and below-the-belt shots, as well as DMs and phone conversations broadcast on social media.

While sharing that she believes the music industry pits Black artists against each other in a way that they don’t do with their white counterparts, Lil Mo declared that Nicki Minaj deserves to be viewed differently from the younger artists she’s often compared to.

“Imma be real honest: you can’t compare a Latto to a Nicki, ’cause Nicki been in the game,” Mo said. “So when she say, ‘All these bitches is my sons,’ people [are] like, ‘Oh, she throwin’ shots.’ No! Because before her, she bows at Lauryn Hill.

She continued: “A lot of people come out talking heavy, but I’m like, if you ain’t been in the game at least 10 years and been through a damn scandal, a death threat or almost near death experience? You can’t say that one hit… no, you gotta have a discography.”

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The two women’s recent Billboard Hot 100 milestones would seem to support Lil Mo’s argument.

In December, Latto was crowned Billboard‘s Top Female Rap Artist and the Top New R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of 2022, thanks to the success of her single “Big Energy.” The song itself topped three year-end charts, landing at No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales, Rap Digital Song Sales and Rhythmic Airplay Songs lists.

The single went on to keep Latto in a Top 40 position on the weekly chart for 37 consecutive weeks.

Nicki Minaj, on the other hand, just broke Missy Elliott’s record as the longest-charting female rapper on the Billboard Hot 100, it was announced earlier this week. According to Chart Data, the rap icons had been tied for the record, before Minaj edged out Elliott on New Year’s Day (January 1).

With “Super Freaky Girl,” sitting at No. 51 on this week’s Hot 100 after 20 weeks on the chart, Nicki has now had a charting single every year since 2010, putting her one year past Missy’s 12 year run, which took place between 1996 and 2008.