Rap diva Nicki Minaj cleared the air with her former manager Big Fendi on the debut episode of Big Fendi Podcast last Wednesday. While doing so, she joined a candid conversation on colorism's role in the appeal of female rappers.

Fendi, who is credited as one of the forces behind discovering Minaj, signed her to Dirty Money Records prior to her joining Young Money Records in 2009. Fendi has managed rap artists Red Cafe, Busta Rhymes and Jadakiss but got his start as a roadie with Big Daddy Kane in the 90s, according to MTV.

For reasons neither party discusses in detail, Minaj eventually hired Deb Antney, mother to Waka Flocka Flame, to manage her career and transitioned out of her partnership with Fendi in 2009. Antney, who also managed celebrated southern rapper Gucci Mane, has since been released from her duties by both artists.

Minaj and Fendi went without speaking for years. Minaj decided it would be best to share the news that her beef with Fendi was over via the first-ever episode of his podcast.

According to a report from The Source, the two started the chat by talking about Minaj's rise to stardom, including how her stage name originally was "Nicki Maraj." But Fendi quickly shifted gears and shared with Minaj an observation he’s had while watching her career grow over the years.

“I think brown-skin rapper chicks, no disrespect, I think since you came in the game [you] kind of made it harder for them,” he said. “You set a bar because a lot of chicks at that time were like, ‘Nicki poppin’ right now. I got to be at least trying to catch up to her to look like her somewhat.’”

The rapper said that darker-skinned women of color have to work harder in any field and she doesn't "play dumb" about how her complexion relates to her success.

“Well, I will say dark skin and brown skin women have to work extra harder in any field,” Minaj replied. “I don’t feel like my complexion is the reason why I made it, but I also try not to be blind or play dumb to what’s really happening in the world.”

Prior to shooting the podcast, Fendi said he last saw Minaj back in 2008 at a Lil Wayne post-tour party in North Carolina. They first met on Myspace in 2006, as her rap career began to take off. He said since their beef started, he has realized that it’s not worth holding a grudge.

When Minaj asked him why he was “dissing” her, Fendi acknowledged that he was hurt and felt excluded from the success he helped her attain.

“I felt like part of it was like, I felt like I started something…,” Fendi started.

“And you didn’t reap the benefits of it,” Minaj said, finishing his thought.

“Absolutely,” Fendi replied. “And that goes for anything. In a relationship or whatever it might be, if you start something and you don’t reap the benefit from it you are going to feel like ‘Hey!’ But, at the end of the day, I feel like you did not give me my credit.”

With Fendi owning up to his part, Minaj didn’t hesitate to say that she has always viewed him as someone who helped build her brand.

“Everyone wants the stamp of ‘I did this for Nicki Minaj. At the end of the day, I did this for Nicki Minaj.’ But along the way my biggest push was you and the Come Up DVD,” she said.

The 37-year-old recalled their chemistry and said that she honors the relationship they’ve built.

“We gelled also just as human beings outside of rap. We had good banter in front of the camera. We was playing, dissing each other, laugh and stuff like that. So, it just worked. But, I just want to make it clear that we weren’t cool for a while and I was out there busting my a*s for a while by myself in Atlanta. So it wasn’t like as soon as I made it I dropped you. I would never do that.”

Last month, Hypebeast reported that Minaj became the first-ever female rapper to have a net worth over $100 million.

Big-Fendi

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