Drake Quietly Throws His Support Behind Nicki Minaj Amidst JAY-Z Feud

It’s really Young Money versus the rest in 2024. Drake had to take on the whole industry by himself during the first half of the year. Now, the heat has shifted to Nicki Minaj. The rapper went absolutely ballistic on JAY-Z after it was revealed that Kendrick Lamar would be playing the Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2005. Minaj felt like her label boss, Lil Wayne should have the chance to headline given that he’s from New Orleans. She had plenty to say on the matter, and it looks like Drake agrees.

Nicki Minaj went on a multi-tweet rant on September 9. She called out JAY-Z for prioritizing money over culture, and waxed poetic about Lil Wayne’s impact on the game. “You don’t know the half of what Lil Wayne has done for me and others,” she wrote. “Inspired your faves to wanna be a great MC. He never was in this for the money.” The last comment seemed like a pretty blatant dig at JAY-Z, who has always advertised himself as a business, man. DJ Akademiks reposted Nicki Minaj’s tweet on Instagram, and the 6 God himself liked it. We know Drake likes to frequent Ak’s content, but the fact that he liked the post, knowing that fans were going to see it, says a lot.

Drake’s silence on the matter, at least officially, has been interesting. He has spent months dissing every famous rapper who came at him on record. In the past few months, though, he’s taken a less direct and ambiguous approach. Drake has seemingly settled into posting cryptic messages on Instagram. Or, in the case of the Lil Wayne Halftime Show situation, purposely timed throwbacks. Shortly after the Super Bowl headliner was announced, and it wasn’t Wayne, Drake took to his IG Stories. He posted a photo of Weezy and the rest of the Young Money crew circa 2009. No caption, but it wasn’t needed. Fans knew what he was getting at.

Drake’s relationship with Nicki Minaj has been the subject of widespread speculation over the years. They have had their years on the outs, like 2015, but they seem to have reconciled. Drake popped out during Nicki Minaj’s Toronto concert earlier this year. He performed a couple songs with her, then told the crowd that he had to get back to his battle with Lamar (we know how that went). Minaj praised her Young Money brother before he got off stage, though. She dubbed Drake an “icon” and a “legend.”