Erica Mena and Nicki Minaj have a complicated history. Both women had relationships with Safaree Samuels, and Mena even has kids with him. These circumstances have led to some fraught exchanges on social media, as well as some passive aggressive remarks made about one another during interviews. That being said, they can occasionally see eye to eye. Nicki Minaj recently posted a video in which she discussed the difficulties of being a mother, and Mena actually showed support.
Minaj’s post threw many fans off due to the rapper’s appearance and speech. She can be seen wearing a hair-cap and speaking very slowly. She seemed on the brink of tears at points. Regardless of what was going, Erica Mena showered the rapper with support. “You got this,” she commented. “Sending real love. Mom life isn’t easy.” Fans were even more surprised to spot Mena’s positivity, given the negative things she’s said about Minaj in the past. In 2018, Mena posted photos of Cardi B, Jennifer Lopez, Lil Kim and Remy Ma on her Instagram with the caption: “Inspirations.” When a user asked whether Minaj was an inspiration, Mena fired back by asking “who?”.
In 2022, the reality star asserted that she wasn’t a fan of Nicki Minaj’s music. She went as far as to claim that the rapper blew up by copying Lil Kim’s style. “Honestly I grew up on Kim so heavy,” she told Hot 97. “When [Nicki] came out, I was like ‘ugh she’s biting my girl.’ It just was what it was.” The tension between these two women have cooled off in recent years, however. Part of it may be due to their shared issues with Safaree Samuels. Minaj’s split from the producer/rapper was messy, as was Erica Mena’s divorce in 2022. Mena attacked Samuels for cheating on her with Love And Hip Hop Miami star Amara La Negra. She even pointed out that Samuels gave more attention to La Negra’s kids than the ones he had with her.
“It’s just very interesting how my kids NEVER received gifts like this by this waste man,” Mena wrote on Instagram in 2023. “My daughter just turned 3. All she got was a birthday cake and a few balloons in his living room. And please don’t get me started on how he didn’t do anything for my son’s 1st birthday until two weeks after the fact.” It’s obvious that Erica Mena holds resentment against Safaree for being a bad dad. It’s not a stretch to envision this experience, which was partially shared with Minaj, was the impetus for her supportive comments about being a mother.
