Nicki Minaj returns with a vengeance on ‘Chun-Li,' ‘Barbie Tingz’

Maeve McDermott | USA TODAY

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Last week may have belonged to Cardi B and the release of her debut album Invasion of Privacy, but this week, it's Nicki Minaj's turn.

Nicki returned on Thursday with two singles, Chun-Li and Barbie Tingz, telling Zane Lowe on Apple Music's Beats 1 that a new album and world tour are both on their way.

Chun-Li sees Nicki out for blood, with the track named after a Street Fighter character who seeks revenge after her father's murder. Similarly, the track's lyrics feature Minaj railing against everyone "painting me out to be the bad guy" and referencing negative press she's received, as her enemies "get on their (expletive) keyboards and make me the bad guy."

Chun-Li is a perfectly fine release, but Barbie Tingz is the real highlight of the two tracks, a welcome reminder of Nicki's addictive flow over a beat that sounds made for summertime radio play. While Minaj possibly references her feud with fellow rapper Remy Ma on Barbie Tingz' lyrics, rapping, "How you still dissin', still can’t find some hits," the afternoon's real drama came after both tracks' premieres, when Minaj brought up her rumored bad blood with Cardi over their Migos collaboration Motorsport.

While Minaj claimed she doesn't have "any animosity" toward Cardi, she detailed how Cardi hurt her feelings in an interview about the song's lyrics.

"The first interview she did after Motorsport came out, it just really hurt me," she said. "Because she just looked so aggravated and angry, and the only thing she kept saying was, 'I didn't hear that verse, she changed her verse.' I was like, what? ... With Motorsport, I just felt ambushed."

Minaj tweeted Thursday about the matter, writing: "How can you say someone changed their verse & forget to say Quavo TOLD me to remove my singing part (which I loved) & Atlantic told me to remove your name from my verse per your request? So how were those changes gonna happen if I didn't "change" my verse?"

How can you say someone changed their verse & forget to say Quavo TOLD me to remove my singing part (which I loved) & Atlantic told me to remove your name from my verse per your request? So how were those changes gonna happen if I didn’t “change” my verse? 😩🤣 #NickiDay #ChunLi — NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) April 12, 2018

Beyond the Cardi incident, Minaj's two new songs — and Barbie Tingz in particular — prove that there's more room than ever in hip-hop for talented female artists. But with Cardi and Nicki almost sure to have competing singles on the radio this summer, fans have likely not heard the last of the two alpha females' saga.

More: Review: Cardi B is a star on debut album 'Invasion of Privacy'