Pt. 2 Remy Ma vs Nicki Minaj Rap Beef: How to Handle a Social Media Crisis
By: Lanetra King
Image Source: Essence
Welcome to part 2 of the Remy Ma and Nicki Minaj rap beef lesson. Firstly, we will be referring to the "rap beef" as what it really is a "social media crisis." There are so many golden nuggets in this social media crisis for business owners, entrepreneurs and creatives. I feel like I can create a whole textbook from the Nicki Minaj vs Remy Ma social media crisis from a PR and branding perspective, but I promise not to over-do it.
Here is what we know about this social media crisis:
·We know that Remy Ma and Nicki Minaj are in rap battle/rap beef that was a "social media crisis."
·It dates back to 2007
·Remy Ma went to jail around 2008 for six years and now she’s back
·Nicki Minaj made subliminal jabs to Remy Ma, on and off the mic, and Remy Ma responded with an almost seven minute diss track called "ShEther"
Now you are caught up!
Crises are inevitable with any business or organization, although, the level of magnitude may be different. Therefore, it’s very important to be prepared for a crisis. By the end of this blog post, you will have three tips you can use to manage a social media crisis.
Be Direct
As an organization, business or entrepreneur, it is extremely important that you are direct. What started the Nicki Minaj/Remy Ma social media crisis was subliminal jabs by Nicki Minaj not only on records, but off the mic as well. From a public relations perspective, if you want to deliver information, whether it’s good or bad, you need to do it directly. If you are answering questions or delivering information to the media or to your client/target market, you should be clear and concise. Do not beat around the bush--no subliminals are needed.
Not only is it important to be direct, but it is even more important to initiate pre-crisis relationships. This is forming relationships before a crisis happens so that when it does, it will be more easily managed. It is critical to have good relationships with your publics and target market to help prevent or minimize a crisis.
Don’t Blame Others
Once Remy Ma actually released the diss track, instead of responding to Remy Ma directly, Nicki Minaj blamed some of her counterparts in the music industry. One of them was singer Trey Songz. In "ShEther," Remy Ma says that Nicki Minaj had sexual relations with Trey Songz and that is the only time she has ever touched a trigger since Trey Songz nicknames himself “Trigga."
Nicki Minaj went at Twitter to confront Trey Songz telling him that he needs to speak up and tell the truth.
“What you should be saying is that it’s not true, seeing that it’s not. Real [people] do real things”
Then she precedes to remind him that she contributed to getting him six million plaques. Before Nicki Minaj made the Twitter comment to Trey Songz, he had already put out a short Instagram video saying that the rumors were not true and disconnected himself from the situation because he didn’t want anything to do with it.
On Twitter Trey Songz pointed out that she should be talking to Remy Ma, not him, which is exactly our point!
Image Source: XXL Magazine
It’s very important not to blame others because by doing so, it shows that you are in denial. In the PR world this is considered scapegoating or eliminating the responsibilities for a crisis to some other person or group outside your organization. What scapegoating essentially does is anger your target market because you are not owning the situation. Blaming others is actually one of the worst crisis-response strategies and is considered a denial posture, which is very dangerous. Make sure to take ownership in handling a crisis instead of blaming others.
3. Respond Quickly
In a crisis, it is no longer appropriate to respond the next day or days later. An ideal response time is actually same-day and your initial response should be ideally within an hour. Nicki Minaj responded to Trey Songz, but not Remy Ma. She posted a video on Instagram that showcased her on the set of her new music video, but didn’t address the issue at all. The more you wait to respond, the more risky the crisis becomes. It will only get worse by avoiding the problem.
It’s important that you respond quickly even if you have not gathered all the facts yet. If you don’t know enough information to respond, you should still acknowledge the crisis or situation. You can state the problem, acknowledge it and promise information within a reasonable time frame. Still do this date, there has been no response from Nicki Minaj.
The three tips shared to handle a social media crisis are be direct, don't blame others and build crisis relationships; respond quickly. By following these tips, you will be prepared for any crisis without scrambling at the last minute.
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