Back in the Nineties, rap beefs used to mean something. Fans of the genre watched in horror as its biggest stars traded insults and then bullets. Two of its most promising talents, 2Pac and the Notorious BIG, were wiped out within months of each other, all because of a coastal rivalry.
Cockburn isn’t hoping for a return to bloodshed — needless to say, his streets have seen too much of that in their time — but he is concerned about the relative tameness of conflicts between rappers these days. When a multimillionaire like Kanye West rises to a supposed slight from multimillionaire Drake about whether he slept with his multimillionaire wife Kim Kardashian, it’s fair to ask whether the noble art of the rap beef has lost its edge.
That’s why new contenders are always welcome. And who better to enter the rap beef arena than Fox News motormouth Tomi Lahren?
Coming up from the harsh climes of a Nevada sorority house, Tomi ‘Tammy’ Lahren has found a new way to share her ‘Final Thoughts’: sparring on Twitter with hip-hop superstars.
First in line was Cardi B, the former stripper from the Bronx who gained international success with songs like ‘Bodak Yellow’ and ‘Twerk’. Cardi became a darling of the Democratic party after criticizing Trump’s government shutdown in mid-January.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BstmkvDFGAm
Which Tomi didn’t take too kindly to…
Looks like @iamcardib is the latest genius political mind to endorse the Democrats. HA! Keep it up, guys! #MAGA2020
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) January 17, 2019
Cardi retaliated with the spirit one might expect from a member of the Bloods:
Leave me alone I will dog walk you . https://t.co/FjqIzpUbvp
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) January 20, 2019
Intriguingly, the spat may have given Cardi a significant role in the 2020 election, as an influential Iowa Democratic group invited her to address them when she’s next in Iowa.
Should I ? https://t.co/H5iI01jIoG
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) January 31, 2019
Once Tomi got a taste for the world of rap feuds, it’s no surprise she chose to come back for a second serving. When the news emerged during the Super Bowl of the ICE raid on rapper 21 Savage, who is apparently a British immigrant who overstayed his visa, Lahren couldn’t help herself:
I got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight ICE agents ready to deport ya. https://t.co/tivP1Ljj8V
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) February 3, 2019
Amazingly, it wasn’t just Cardi who took her to task this time…
Don’t make me get my leash https://t.co/ErQ2RhzDeg
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) February 4, 2019
Another heavyweight of the female rap game, Nicki Minaj, weighed in against the Fox News host, calling her a ‘fkn clown’:
Your obsession w/our culture is scary to say the least. I hate giving you the attention you so desperately crave. Laughing @ ppl getting deported as if your ancestors discovered America. Are you Native American? You fkn clown. https://t.co/7m0fYnubkq
— Mrs. Petty (@NICKIMINAJ) February 4, 2019
Is Lahren a masochist? Or is she thriving off the attention these megastars are giving her? Cockburn can’t help but wonder whether a catfight with Azealia Banks might be slightly closer to her pay grade…but at least she’s injected some political intrigue into the world of music once again.
