Essence Music Festival

Nicki Minaj didn’t mince words about former collaborator Kanye West during her headlining set at the 2022 Essence Music Festival on Friday, July 1st. The diss in question came partway through the rapper’s set, when her DJ cued up her guest verse from Ye’s star-studded smash “Monster” off 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. (The track is largely credited for launching Minaj into hip-hop stardom). “A monster though! A monster though! But we don’t fuck with clowns,” she said, teasing the track before putting down her proverbial monster Giuseppe heel down and stopping the show altogether to instead give a shout-out to host city New Orleans. Advertisement Related Video It’s not exactly clear what led to Minaj’s snipe, but she previously expressed dissatisfaction over West’s decision to sh...