by It looks like Remy Ma’s fans aren’t too happy with her these days. Apparently, they are very disappointed by some of the moves that she’s had in her career post-prison. Issues that Remy’s fans have her continued appearances on Love & Hip Hop: New York, her beef with Nicki Minaj, and the fact that newcomer Cardi B has surpassed Remy in every way. They put some of the blame on Remy’s record label Columbia Records.
Once upon a time, there was a girl from The Bronx who captivated the Hip-Hop world with her dope verses and battle rapper style. She went on to reign as the most popular female rapper of her time, destined for greatest. That was until she caught a case and was sent to prison for a good eight years, only to serve six. Eventually, she was released and had to pick up the pieces of her career that she left behind. Four years after her release, she still isn’t back on track to reach the heights that she was predicted to reach before becoming a convict.
It’s like the worst Cinderella story ever. True, Remy Ma has her freedom, a husband, kids, and a lot of money to spend, but what else does she have to show for it? Where’s her Grammys, how many platinum, albums solo albums does she have, why don’t we have a Remy Ma hit single on the radio?
Instead of taking her top spot back, Remy has been occupying her time with other things. First being that she signed on to Love & Hip Hop: New York and brought the franchise back to life with a legitimate Hip-Hop artist. While on the show, she made it a point to give her and Papoose a formal wedding. Unfortunately, she’s stayed on and dropped herself down to the level of amateur female rappers like Mariah Lynn, while Cardi B went on to take her career through the roof.
We all love Cardi B, but let’s be honest. She started her career off as “click-bait” and sound bites before anyone ever realized that she was actually talented. And no matter how many popular songs she makes or accolades she gains, Cardi’s rapping skills could never stand a chance against the bars of Remy Ma. Fortunately for Cardi, she was able to win people over with her personality first and then hit them with her talent later.
Another disappointment is Remy’s beef with Nicki Minaj. While Remy was in the slammer, Nicki took over as the “Head Female Rapper in Charge.” She not only took over Hip-Hop but also captivated mainstream media and achieve commercial success. At that time, Nicki was the hardest working female rapper on the planet; racking up features on other artist’s songs, selling out shows and merchandise, and delivering consistent hits.
While Remy did release the hottest diss track of decade, only topping Drake’s “Back to Back,” “Shether” only lived on the radio and iTunes for a short amount of time. Nicki, on the other hand, was able to turn her response “No Fraud” into another commercial moment; peaking at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and #11 on the Billboard Rap Streams charts. Another example of Remy winning the battle, but still losing the war.
There are also allegations that Columbia Records paid Remy to create “Shether” and start a beef with Nicki Minaj. People also accuse the label of not backing the female rapper enough and attributes their lack of support to Remy’s lack of success. While the first accusation sits on the line between ridiculous and logical, the second is totally believable. When it comes to rappers, Remy Ma and Dej Loaf are the only female rappers on Columbia Records’ roster; which is mostly populated by Pop and R&B singers. Some of her other labelmates include Adele, Beyoncé, and John Legend.
The most disappointing part of Remy’s career is her music in general. She has yet to drop her long-awaited second studio album Seven Winters, Six Summers, which she has been talking about ever since she was released from prison back in 2014. Yes, she has tasted success with her Fat Joe collaboration album Plata O Plomo. However, her latest singles “Wake Me Up”(feat. Lil’ Kim) and “Melanin Magic” (feat. Chris Brown) has failed to make any significant improvements to her career. People have gone from saying, “There’s something about Remy” to “What about Remy?”
For all of the people who backed her and the millions of fans who wanted her to be released, Remy Ma has yet to prove that she was worth the wait. That’s not saying that she isn’t talented and an extraordinary rapper, but people can only go off of what they’ve been shown. Honestly, Remy Ma isn’t showing that she has much to offer. And if that’s the truth, fans might as well continue listening to the random singles that Nicki’s been dropping, watching Cardi B twerk around with her unborn child, and reading Azealia Banks’ twitter rants. Unless Remy has something better for us coming.
Martel S. Sharpe
