In case you missed it, Nicki Minaj aimed at Shannon Sharpe on her verse in the “Banned From NO” remix from Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter VI bonus edition. Fans quickly zeroed in on what felt like a jab. Now, the NFL Hall of Famer-turned-media personality, who has been under fire recently, has addressed the bar and the buzz surrounding it.
Okay, so on the track, Nicki spits, “‘Bout to cop you slides, all you do is flip-flop, if I send a pic of Shannon, you ain’t that Sharpe.” It didn’t take long for Sharpe to catch the reference and respond during a recent episode of Nightcap, where he broke down the misunderstanding that sparked the lyrical heat.
“I was talking about Nikki Haley,” Sharpe explained, referencing a post he made back in February that read, “Nicki who?” He clarified that it had nothing to do with the hip-hop icon. “Nikki Haley said it’s really great for everybody of Black America, and I was like… ‘When has it ever been great?’”
Apparently, Minaj took notice and didn’t hold back. Shortly after the remix dropped, she posted to the Gram, “Yeah n—a you thought I forgot that ‘Nicki who’ sh-t you did?”
Taking a respectful tone, Sharpe used his platform to apologize directly and make his intentions clear. “Nicki, I was not trying to be disrespectful. Of course, I know who you are. I would be remiss to say that I thought you knew who I was, or that you knew anything about Club Shay Shay. I’m not that arrogant,” he said.
Sharpe added a personal olive branch, saying, “Nicki, I apologize. I meant no disrespect. You’ll always have an open invitation if you ever want to come sit down and have a conversation. Even if you just want to have a private conversation on the phone or something. It won’t go any further between you and I.”
Strategic move from Sharpe, or was he genuinely trying to put the fire before it rages on?