Nicki Minaj teamed up with Teakshi 6ix9ine for the new song “Trollz,” released on June 12, and fans couldn’t help but notice that she took a subtle dig at Usher in the lyrics. “Somebody usher this n***a into a clinic,” Nicki raps on the song. Fans immediately began buzzing that the use of the verb ‘usher’ was intentional. Tekashi seemingly confirmed the speculation by commenting on an Instagram post that “Usher got 24 hours to respond.”
Usher was previously accused of exposing past sexual partners to herpes without disclosing that he allegedly had the disease first. He was involved in a lengthy legal battle over the accusations for years. Fans think that Nicki’s reference to a “clinic” on “Trollz” must be a reference to allegations that Usher had an STD.
This apparent shade comes after Usher made some comments about Nicki during an Instagram Live with SwizzBeatz in May. Swizz mentioned that he’d been seeing a lot of chatter about organizing a Verzuz battle between Nicki and Lil Kim, to which Usher responded, “Nah, Nicki is a product of Kim.” Nicki’s fans were NOT happy about Usher’s comment, and they trolled him on Twitter for days about it.
Meanwhile, Nicki has received some backlash for working with 6ix9ine, who is a convicted felon after pleading guilty to use of a child in a sexual performance in 2015. In 2019, Tekashi also made headlines for testifying against the Nine Trey Gang to receive a shorter prison sentence for charges of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder and more. His sentence was made even shorter due to the coronavirus outbreak, and he was released in March to serve the rest of his sentence at home.
Tekashi has been hailed as a ‘snitch’ by many fellow artists, but Nicki has publicly supported him. She’s defended herself for working with the rapper on a number of occasions, including ahead of the “Trollz” release. “I’m not afraid of Internet trolls, blogs, artists,” she tweeted. “I don’t jump on bandwagons.” Nicki and Tekashi are donating a portion of proceeds from “Trollz” and its accompanying merchandise to The Bail Project Inc., which “provides free bail assistance to low-income individuals who can’t afford to pay bail.”