Posted by Doja Cat and Lil Baby were among the crop of current stars who broke their Grammys cherry at the 2022 Grammy Awards on Sunday night (April 3).
An emotional Doja won the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance thanks to her “Kiss Me More” collaboration with SZA, while Baby took home Best Melodic Rap Performance alongside Kanye West and The Weeknd for “Hurricane.”
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As if being recognized by the Recording Academy wasn’t enough, Doja Cat and Lil Baby both earned plaudits from the Queen of Rap herself, Nicki Minaj, who took to her Instagram Stories on Monday (April 4) to toast to the duo’s success.
“Congratulations on your Grammy mama,” Nicki texted Doja in a screenshot. “You really really really really really really really fkng deserve it.”
The Queen rapper also shared clips of Doja Cat naming her as a “bucket list” collaborator during a red carpet interview at Sunday’s Grammys, perhaps hinting at a follow-up to 2020’s “Say So (Remix).”
Nicki Minaj shares a message congratulating Doja Cat on her first Grammy. pic.twitter.com/ZsJphme47C
— TheShadeRoom (@TheShadeRoom) April 5, 2022
As for Lil Baby, Nicki sent the Atlanta rapper a short but sweet message that read “Congratulations on your Grammy @lilbaby.”
Nicki recently joined forces with Lil Baby on “Do We Have a Problem?” and “Bussin,” which may appear on her forthcoming album. “Do We Have a Problem?” soared to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Bussin” cracked the top 20.
Nicki Minaj congratulates Lil Baby on his first Grammy win last night! ?x?? pic.twitter.com/1P4uJuI5gg
— Lil Baby Szn (@Lilbabyszn) April 5, 2022
Despite her record-breaking success, Nicki Minaj has yet to win a Grammy herself. The 39-year-old rap queen has been nominated a total of 10 times, with her most recent nods coming in 2016. In 2020, Nicki slammed the Grammys on Twitter for snubbing her for Best New Artist in 2012.
“Never forget the Grammys didn’t give me my best new artist award when I had 7 songs simultaneously charting on billboard & bigger first week than any female rapper in the last decade- went on to inspire a generation,” she wrote. “They gave it to the white man Bon Iver. #PinkFriday.”
Never forget the Grammys didn’t give me my best new artist award when I had 7 songs simultaneously charting on billboard & bigger first week than any female rapper in the last decade- went on to inspire a generation. They gave it to the white man Bon Iver. #PinkFriday
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) November 24, 2020
Last month, Nicki Minaj was one of several big names called on to join a Grammys protest led by legendary rap mogul J. Prince. The Rap-A-Lot Records founder announced plans to stage an all-star concert also featuring Drake, Kanye West and The Weeknd to be held in Las Vegas on the same night as the 2022 Grammy Awards.
“This is a slave master, punish-a-n-gga mentality and act to remind us that no matter how much money we have, we’re still n-ggas in their eyes,” he said. “So they cancel Kanye and discriminated against Drake, The Weeknd, Nicki Minaj and many others over the years. This will only be broken by us uniting our powers to bring about change moving forward.”
J. Prince’s ambitious plan, however, failed to materialize.