Lil Nas X Addresses Backlash From the Barbz Over Nicki Minaj Reference on "SUN GOES DOWN"
After dropping his new song "SUN GOES DOWN," Lil Nas X has addressed Nicki Minaj’s fanbase after some of them questioned why he name-dropped her.
Following the arrival of Lil Nas X’s new song “SUN GOES DOWN,” the rapper has addressed Nicki Minaj’s fanbase after some of them questioned why he name-dropped her on the track.
In “SUN GOES DOWN,” which sees him reflecting on his life pre-fame, the rapper even references his fandom. “I’d be by the phone / Stanning Nicki mornin’ into dawn / Only place I felt like I belonged / Strangers make you feel so loved, you know?” he sings in the first verse. The video for song even includes a brief moment of him tweeting from his old Twitter username, @nasmaraj.
Some of Nicki’s fanbase believed that Lil Nas X was only name-dropping her in the song for attention, which he was quick to shoot down in a tweet.
“To the barbz who feel i’m using nicki’s name for attention, the song i released last night was recorded last year,” Lil Nas X wrote on Twitter. “And it’s about my life which 6 of those years were dedicated to nicki. it’s no fake love. but i understand how it looks so i will no longer mention her.”
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When Lil Nas X first gained traction in 2019 off the success of “Old Town Road,” some pointed out that he used to run a Nicki Minaj fan account on Twitter. He initially appeared to distance himself from the fanbase, but in 2020 he admitted he was a fairly active member of Nicki’s fanbase, otherwise known as the Barbz. “I didn’t want people to know I was gay tbh,” he tweeted. When a fan tweeted at him saying “being a Barb don’t make you gay,” he replied, “It don’t but people will assume if you had an entire fan page dedicate to nicki u are gay. and the rap/music industry ain’t exactly built or accepting of gay men yet.”
Nicki Minaj herself hasn’t replied to the shout-out, but it’s hard to see how it could be perceived as a diss.