Nicki Minaj vs. Cardi B: The Stats Behind Their Clash

Nicki Minaj vs. Cardi B is one of hip-hop’s most talked-about rivalries. Rather than taking sides, we’re putting the debate to the test. Analyzing the data behind their social performance to see how they truly compare. From follower growth to engagement rates and sentiment, we’re breaking down the numbers to determine who comes out on top.

Note: As of late December 2025, Nicki Minaj deactivated her official Instagram account following public backlash (unrelated to Cardi B) and a significant decline in followers. She has not publicly confirmed whether she plans to return. This article has been updated to reflect current developments; however, the data referenced throughout reflects 2023 social performance.

Before we get into the numbers, we must add context and discuss this squabble's culmination point.

2017: Collaboration Sparks Early Rumors

The two appeared to have a cordial relationship and even had their first collaboration on the song “MotorSport” with Migos. This collaboration is actually where rumors of a feud began due to changes in verses and tensions during the song’s production (allegedly).  ‍

2018: Tensions Go Public

Nicki and Cardi’s relationship began to sour publicly in 2018. Social media posts from both stars were seen as indirect digs at the other and were scrutinized constantly by fans and the media, who speculated about the depth of the feud and, in turn, likely made it into a larger issue than it would be otherwise. Tensions also reached their peak in mid-2018 after there was a physical altercation between the two at the Harper’s Bazaar ICONS party during NYFW. The media widely covered this altercation, which marked the first official escalation of their feud from speculation to truth. ‍

2018–2019: Public Responses and Media Attention

Following the NYFW incident, both artists addressed the altercation in interviews and on social media, offering their own perspectives on what happened. The feud became a recurring media topic, with fans dissecting lyrics, interviews and posts for further signs of conflict.‍

2019–2020: Indirect Jabs and Cultural Commentary

While there were no direct physical confrontations after 2018, tensions continued through indirect moments.

• In early 2019, Minaj withdrew from a BET Experience performance after the network posted a tweet perceived as mocking her following Cardi B’s Grammy win.
• Miley Cyrus referenced the feud in a lyric on her 2019 EP, prompting a public response from Minaj.
• In 2020, viral social media moments, including mistaken identity tweets and award show commentary, reignited online conversations about the rivalry.
• Cardi B also publicly criticized attempts to pit successful women against each other in the industry.

Although these moments were largely indirect, they kept public interest in the feud alive.

2020–2024: Career Focus, Ongoing Speculation

Following the height of the feud, both artists largely shifted focus toward their careers, families and new projects. While fans continued to analyze lyrics and social media posts for subtle references, there were no major direct confrontations during this period. Public reconciliation never occurred, but the conflict seemed to move into the background.

2025-Present: Renewed Twitter (X) Conflict

The rivalry resurfaced publicly in September 2025 following the release of Cardi B’s second studio album, Am I the Drama?, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. A series of tweets between the two escalated quickly, with both artists criticizing each other’s commercial success, personal lives and families. The exchange drew significant public attention and media coverage, including commentary from radio hosts and other public figures. The online dispute sparked broader conversation about celebrity culture, social media escalation and the impact of highly public arguments on public perception.

Now that we’ve revisited the context behind the rivalry, let’s shift to what the data reveals about their social performance on Instagram.

Note: As of late December 2025, Nicki Minaj deactivated her official Instagram account following intense backlash unrealted to Cardi B. She has not publicly indicated whether she intends to return.‍

We could debate all day about who has the stronger discography, better collaborations or more iconic fashion moments. But when it comes to measuring performance on social media, opinions take a back seat to data. With Instagram metrics at our fingertips, we can compare how Nicki Minaj and Cardi B truly stack up online.

We used a combination of Dash Social’s Competitive Insights to gather follower and engagement data (from January 1, 2023 to November 29, 2023) and Social Listening for sentiment analysis to gain a deeper understanding of how these two are discussed online.   

Followers

While follower count isn’t the be-all-end-all metric it used to be, it’s still a quick and easy way to measure someone's popularity, especially on Instagram. Nicki has almost 60 million more followers than Cardi, which is likely attributed to the fact that she has had a longer career and more time to establish her presence on the platform. 

• @nickiminaj: 228.4 million ‍
• @iamcardib: 169.1 million

Average Daily New Followers

Both Nicki and Cardi are gaining a fair amount of new followers daily, with Nicki gaining about 15 thousand more followers daily than Cardi on average.  

• @nickiminaj: 78.1K
• @iamcardib: 63.8K

Engagement

Engagement is one of the most important metrics to measure on social media. It shows how much users interact with your content and gives a great idea of what types of content people like to see. Although Nicki has a high amount of followers, it’s actually Cardi who has a higher average engagement rate of 1.3%. This percentage could mean that while Cardi has fewer followers, the followers she does have are more engaged in her content. 

• @nickiminaj: 0.5%
• @iamcardib: 1.3%

Sentiment Analysis

Sentiment is an interesting metric to analyze because it breaks down how people talk about you through social listening. Nicki and Cardi have a healthy mix of sentiment, with ‘neutral’ as their highest percentage and ‘negative’ as their lowest. Cardi has a higher positive sentiment than Nicki, but she also has a higher negative sentiment, so in a sense, this makes their results pretty equal.  

• @nickiminaj: positive sentiment: 16%, negative: 3%, neutral: 81% 
• @iamcardib: positive sentiment: 20%, negative: 4%, neutral: 76% 

Nicki Minaj and Cardi B’s All-Time Top Performing Posts 

The final interesting comparison to examine between Nicki and Cardi’s social presence is which Instagram posts performed the best, using data pulled with Dash Social's Competitive Insights tool.

@nickiminaj 

It’s no surprise that Nicki’s top performing post is related to the box office hit ‘Barbie’ that hit theatres in mid-2023. The post is a carousel featuring a cover shot of Nicki with Barbie herself, Margot Robbie, followed by an array of solo still shots and videos of Nicki walking the pink carpet. This post was estimated to have reached over 60 million users and received almost three million likes. 

• Engagement Rate 1.5%
• Effectiveness Rate: 4.8%
• Estimated Reach: 60.6M
• Likes: 2.9M
• Comments: 25.9K

@iamcardib

Cardi’s top-performing post pulls on our heartstrings. It is a carousel posted in June 2023, dedicated to her daughter, Kulture, who graduated from pre-school. There is an array of photos of Cardi and Kulture together and then a couple of solo shots of Kulture enjoying her day and celebrations. This post alone earned an engagement rate of 3.2% and over five million likes.  

• Engagement Rate 3.2%
• Effectiveness Rate: 10.8%
• Estimated Reach: 50.3M
• Likes: 5.4M
• Comments: 25K

So, we’ve gathered and analyzed the stats and numbers, but what exactly can we conclude from it? Both Nicki Minaj and Cardi B have their strengths. Both have done an incredible job sharing content they know their fans want to see. While Nicki has a leg up regarding followers and some more traditional metrics, Cardi shines at earning higher engagement rates and getting her fans involved. 

To us, this means that it’s not Nicki Minaj OR Cardi B; it’s Nicki Minaj AND Cardi B. Whether you like one or the other, there is space for both of these legends at the table, and we cannot wait to see what they do next.

Imagine easily uncovering the same information we collected on Nicki Minaj and Cardi B for your own competitors in a few simple clicks. Sounds like a dream, right? With Dash Social's, it’s a reality. 

We’ve touched on the basic capabilities of Competitive Insights and Social Listening, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With Competitive Insights, brands can access competitive and industry benchmarks that allow you to surface key posts, top-performing content and trends directly from your competitive set. Use this information to create custom reports and dashboards that simplify social media competitor analysis instead of taking hours or even days of your time. 

With Social Listening, go beyond what people say and understand how they say it. Monitor specific keywords and hashtags, stay on top of trends, utilize visual search and filters and bring honest customer feedback to the surface with Dash Social's modern listening solution.

‍How did Cardi B and Nicki Minaj’s argument impact their social media?

If there is one thing social media users love, it’s celebrity drama. Especially when it’s between two powerhouse stars like Nicki and Cardi B. Arguments and ‘beef’ between these two inevitably lead to an uptick in engagement and followers for both, as many passionate and passive fans alike like to show their allegiance to one or the other by following the star and interacting with their latest posts to show their support. 

While there may be some fluctuations as users unfollow the star they choose not to side with, the new followers outshine and quickly replace the losses. 

How many followers does Nicki Minaj have on Instagram?

As of January 2025, Nicki Minaj has 227 million followers on Instagram. 

How many followers does Cardi B have on Instagram?

As of January 2025, Cardi B has 165 million followers on Instagram.