Nicki Minaj, Lil’ Kim Feud: Eve Takes Sides in Rappers’ Beef

As Nicki Minaj's sophomore album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, fellow female MC Eve is speaking out to remind Minaj to thank her hip-hop predecessors for paving the way -- specifically her rival Lil' Kim.

"It's not about publicity. It's about wanting that respect," Eve told BET, commenting on Lil' Kim's stance in the epic cat fight. "I think maybe that's where Kim is coming from, like, you're doing your thing right now and no one can take that away from you, Nicki -- we all see it. But at the end of the day, if it wasn't for Kim, she wouldn't be here and that s--- is real," Eve insisted.

Minaj and Kim's beef started back in 2010 when the female rap pioneer accused the newcomer of ripping off her style and put her on blast over a diss track, "Black Friday." The song, whose title is a play on Nicki's Pink Friday album title, accuses Nicki of sleeping with mentor Lil Wayne in order to land a deal with his Cash Money label.

Kim labeled her rival a "knockoff" and a "carbon copy" of herself, which of course Minaj did not take lying down. She fired back with diss tracks of her own including, "Tragedy" and "Stupid H--." As Eve addressed, Minaj maintains that Kim has been drumming up drama for the sake of publicity. The rappers have yet to make peace.

Do you agree with Eve's take on the feud? Tweet us your thoughts @theboombox.