After the debut of Doja Cat's album Vie, Azealia Banks said the rapper is taking too much inspiration from Nicki Minaj.
The characteristically outspoken Banks shared her thoughts of Doja on X by responding to a post comparing the latter’s rhyme style on “AAAHH MEN!” to Nicki's way of rapping on “Stupid Hoe.”
“Ok I love the girls and love Nicki but we can’t just be riding Nicki’s dick like this,” Banks wrote. “Like a teeeny bit of inspiration/borrowing is okay and respectful … but the full on Nicki cosplays have to stop because it’s almost like mocking her. Which is rude.”
“Ugh, she almost had me,” added Banks, confirming that she’d previously been one of Doja’s supporters.
Two days before that post, Banks alerted her timeline to the fact that she was a fan of Doja’s new music.
“Wait I really like this doja record,” she wrote. In a separate post, she continued, saying that, “This is her best work. I’m obsessed with this. It’s so good.”
Last October, Banks gave Doja some unsolicited advice on X about where she should go next creatively in her career.
“Something tells me Dojacats next musical move is going to be some tiered alt-emo eartheater/twigs rip off,” she wrote. “She needs to go full adult contemporary 'Zero 7 - Destiny' 'sonnique-feels so good,' 'Seal-kiss from a rose' pensive bald black girl skunk anasie stadium love song vibes and really SANG.”
Doja Cat has been open about taking inspiration from the Pink Friday rapper, and they collaborated on the remix to “Say So” in 2020. Doja wanted Nicki to appear on the track “Get Into It (Yuh)” afterwards, but Nicki opted out because she didn’t think she could bring anything to the song.
In 2023, Doja addressed her comparison to Nicki on the track “Attention,” rapping, “Just let me flex, bruh, just let me pop shit?/'Why she think she Nicki M? She think she hot shit'/I never gave a F, go stir the pot, bitch/I got your head all in the dirt just like a ostrich."