Rapper Erica Banks is gaining social media buzz after receiving a co-sign this past weekend from Nicki Minaj on Twitter for her music video remix of Sada Baby's “Whole Lotta Choppas”. Nicki's remix of the song, which debuted on Oct. 16, helped Whole Lotta Choppas peak at No. 35 on Billboard's Hot 100.
Erica's version paid homage to Nicki Minaj, stating "...love Nicki, she's the Queen of this sh*t. If it wasn't for Nicki, wouldn't be in this bi*ch."
In response, Nicki retweeted a clip of Erica's video, "Sending love right back. U sound dope on this."
Erica is new to the music scene but has been facing public pushback since her debut for being 1501 Certified Entertainment’s latest female rap prodigy.
1501 Entertainment, a music label owned by retired MLB player Carl Crawford, signed Banks to their label after rapper #MeganTheStallion decided to sue 1501 for allegedly blocking her from releasing new music back in 2019.
“They tried to cut me completely out of the deal...Megan hasn’t honored her contact since she signed with Roc Nation. She hasn’t paid me one dime of what she owes me,” said Crawford to Variety back in March.
Rumors have also speculated that after Megan Thee Stallion signed a management deal with Jay Z's Roc Nation, Carl Crawford spitefully signed Erica Banks to his label to be in direct competition with Megan. These rumors in conjunction with the recent legal feud between Crawford and Megan Thee Stallion ultimately caused Banks to be forcefully pushed into a social media fueled competition. The tension between Megan and Erica isn't solely a result of fans putting the two artist against each other.
During a recent live broadcast of "The Armon Wiggins Show" on YouTube, Erica Banks decided to call into the live show as radio host Armon Wiggins touched on the tension between the two ladies.
Armon shared with Erica that immediately after her announcement on social media that she would be remixing "Thick" by DJ Chose, Megan took to Instagram and shared a video revealing that she, too, would be remixing the track. Megan ultimately received the official remix credits from DJ Chose, but of course this didn't come without some negative feedback from onlooking fans.
"What Meg did was some bullshit, period. She's watching you and you get a lot of flack like you wanna be her and we've talked about this before. I said, 'do you feel like you're gonna be in Megan Thee Stallion's shadow?', and you said no, but I do think...it was gonna be hard for you because a lot of these people don't wanna pick a side. They don't want to look like they're choosing someone else to shit on Megan Thee Stallion."
Armon asked Banks if she thinks her Thick remix is better than Megan's, in which she replied, "Of course...I personally think mines was better....because I stayed on topic...and then its like you listen to the other version and it just sounds vindictive."
Armon then asked when did Erica stop following Megan.
“Uh, I can’t even really tell you the exact date to be honest but it was recently...cuz you know on my end it was never an issue, you know what I’m saying? It was never an issue, which is why I was following her...but people get things misconstrued but that's another story."
Despite the social media claims that Bank’s musical ad-libs and a few of her debut fashion choices were similar to Megan's, it is worth noting that Banks has a unique flow and lyrical vocabulary that differentiates her musically. Unfortunately, the timing of Banks' debut along with those similarities may be the cause of Megan's anonymity towards Erica, and understandably so.
Later in the show Armon highlighted that above all the comparisons, the recognition from Nicki Minaj communicates to others that Erica is indeed talented.
"How do you feel though now, you got Nicki Minaj shouting you out and Mulatto...Mulatto has gotten a lot of shoutouts and al ot ofcosigns, you haven't got a lot of that, but you were still mentioned...[by] the best female rapper of all time. What did that feel like today?"
"First I thought it wasn't real I had to wait and I had to make sure she was verified, like is this the real Nicki? I'm like in the car at the time so I'm trippin' out, like wait a minute but...it feels good. I really can't even explain it to you for real, its unexplainable you know, this is somebody I grew up listening to. Whenever I have interviews she's always my first choice."
Perhaps now, Erica Banks will be able to overcome the negative comparisons and be finally given a chance in the music industry to be respected for her talent. Nevertheless, we hope Megan and Erica's feud can one day be salvaged, as both ladies are extremely talented.
Watch the full live interview below:
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