Eve’s Memoir Leads to Heart-to-Heart With Nicki Minaj About Hip-Hop Self-Doubts

The release of Eve's memoir, Who's That Girl? sparked an unexpected exchange with Nicki Minaj. Their candid talk revealed shared struggles from their time on the set of Barbershop: The Next Cut in 2016. When the book came out last September, Minaj sent a striking message on X.

"I thought you didn't like me," wrote Minaj in an open letter on X (formerly Twitter), admitting that she was just as nervous to work with an icon she admired. She also appreciated Eve's honesty for breaking the silence and helping to rewrite the narrative about competitiveness among hip-hop women, with the words, "Women like us have the same struggles, as artists, as wives, as mothers. Your honesty is groundbreaking."

"You looked like a pro and I admired that so much. Women feel so much pressure to compete & it's a shame b/c we usually have so much in common & could really benefit from one another just as human beings," the Queen of Barbz continued, as reported by All HipHop.

In the raw passages of the memoir, Eve writes about feeling small next to Minaj's star status. Between takes, she watched as her co-star wrote songs and rushed off to shows, which fed her inner critic.

During a chat with Complex, Eve recalled that moment and stated, "That was another confirmation that it was time to do that book, and also that was one of the chapters that I questioned about putting in the book. Once she responded, I was like, 'I was supposed to do that,' and I'm so happy that that happened."

Through therapy, Eve has now found ways to face these feelings head-on. She stresses how vital it is for women to push past their fears and build each other up in music.

In her letter, Minaj praised Eve as a "trendsetter" from her early days. She pointed to Eve's mix of "grace" and "talent" in tackling the music world's tests. The exchange lit up social media. Artists and fans jumped in, stunned by this rare show of public support between rap stars.

During press talks, Eve stated bluntly about the early days in her career. "Before I'd met anybody, I always thought of it as this sisterhood. I thought we were all gonna be friends. It was not like that," she revealed per The Guardian.

Want to read more of her experiences? Eve's Who's That Girl? was released in stores in September 2024. The book charts her path from rap roots to screen success, weaving in lessons from her time in therapy.