Label Politics Might Have Saved Nicki Minaj In Her Beef Against Remy Ma

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In the moment it made perfect sense: Remy Ma was looking to slingshot her scathing diss at the rap Goliath that is Nicki Minaj so what better beat to use than instrumental from Nas’ epic Jay Z diss “Ether”? It’s the quintessential diss song of the last two decades, and no matter who you feel won the battle between Nas and Jay what can’t be denied is only “Ether” has become a verb, synonymous with dissing someone and getting the better of them, not “Takeover.” Unfortunately for Remy Ma, she reportedly didn’t bother to get her paperwork in order and now her Nicki diss “ShETHER” might be dead in the water thanks to Universal.

TMZ reports that Universal — which owns Nas’ original record and the beat — has essentially pulled the plug on Remy’s version, causing her to pull the song from Soundcloud and radio and even going so far as banning Remy from performing the song at her shows. Universal has, however, allowed the record to remain on iTunes because nobody is turning down free money. According to TMZ, Nas himself is not involved with the ban and “would NEVER step into a blistering showdown.”

It might be the final nail in the coffin for Remy, who hasn’t handled the brief bit of goodwill well. She tried to up the ante by returning before Nicki succumbed to the pressure and responded, but did so with a cringeworthy Drake rip off that did more harm than good. Every time Remy speaks or indulges the beef any further she seems to only give Nicki even less reason to respond, after Nick already made it clear she’s not interested in responding anyway.

So yeah, even though it’s not all her fault, Remy appears to be blowing a 3-1 lead, fumbling at the goal line, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and every other sports analogy that says she blew it.

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