In a social media rollout for her latest single, “Hoochie Coochie,” Sexyy Red purportedly leaked a slew of DMs from a series of athletes and fellow rappers, revealing their not so subtle thirst in an Instagram montage that has both fans and critics buzzing. With her new track’s raw energy behind it, the video contains screenshots of messages in which unnamed public figures gush over Red with lines like “Baby, I’m infatuated” and “I think about you all the time.” It’s audacious, it’s scuzzed-up, it’s just plain Sexyy Red serving up her usual cocktail of sex, swagger and unvarnished self-confidence.

Red knows her worth and is not afraid to shine a light on how the industry creeps into her DMs. Needless to say, the move was met with instant backlash online. As Hollywood Unlocked uploaded the montage to their feed on Instagram, the comments section dazzled with hot takes. One user deconstructed the double standards of how we respond to women like Red currently being in the spotlight, writing, “Y’all were approved when Kamala Harris has these chicks popping out on a political stage… This is exactly the shit y’all love to see of black women.” One other was much less restrained, “I hate this generation,” it bluntly stated.

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Yet whether you love her or hate her, Sexyy Red is a specialist in controversy-based marketing, and “Hoochie Coochie” is the perfect vehicle for her unfiltered brand. Avenue Q digital Kim has attracted criticism of her methods and praise (from me!) for being a woman who is reversing the narrative, telling her own story in front of the lens when the industry doesn’t always see (or hear) women. Sexyy Red is insisting on attention. And with “Hoochie Coochie,” she’s making it abundantly clear that if you slide into her DMs, it might end up in the show.

In a moment that seems both historic and long overdue, Billboard has officially bestowed the title of best female rapper of all time upon Nicki Minaj, supplanting the likes of hip-hop titans Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, Lil Kim, and other legendary game-changers. For a genre that has often downplayed women’s voices, this honor is a loud celebration of Nicki’s unique influence and talent. Billboard’s ranking wasn’t plucked from thin air. The publication emphasized that this list was based on criteria including chart performance, cultural impact, lyrical skill, flow, and career longevity, and Nicki checked every box with panache.

Whether it’s being the first female rapper to surpass the mark of Billboard Hot 100 hits back in 2018 to the massive success of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour, which is currently the highest-grossing tour of any female rapper of all time for more than a decade now, Minaj has been rewriting everything we thought a rap ideal could or should be. “Fifteen years from the first time she left earth with her godly verse on Kanye West’s ‘Monster,’” Billboard added, “Minaj is still running laps around the competition.” And they’re not wrong. Nicki’s voice has been inescapable since her debut album, Pink Friday, rattled the industry in 2010.

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Whether she’s rapping as the fierce Chun-Li, the over the top Roman Zolanski, or her unfiltered real self, Onika, no one gets down like Baddie. Nicki’s combination of pop sensibility, fearless flow, and alter-ego creativity made her just as much a rap titan as an architect of modern pop-rap. She kicked down such wide doors, and an entire generation of new rappers, her self-styled “sons,” have walked through them. This is more than a win for Nicki Minaj, this is a victory for every ground-breaking female emcee who ever dared to dream bigger. Nicki’s story is one of defiance, dominance, and destiny, from mixtapes to megahits, from Barbie dreams to Billboard history.