Nicki Minaj, Lil' Kim Could Make A 'Dope Record,' Eve Says

Can it be that it was all so simple then? A time when shopping at the same wig stop wasn't enough to incite a rap beef? Eve thinks so. The Philly MC was reminiscing as talk turned to rap's reigning princess, Nicki Minaj, and the game's Queen Bee, Lil' Kim.

Just a few months after she joined the Notorious K.I.M. for a surprise performance at the Bronx's Paradise Theatre, MTV News caught up with Eve in New Orleans, where she put on a turned-up show at the Essence Music Festival over Fourth of July weekend.

With newbies like Azealia Banks taking shots at vets like Kim, and the Bed-Stuy spitter, in turn, taking aim at YMCMB's leading lady, we asked onetime first lady of Ruff Ryders to weigh in on the current state of affairs.

"It sucks 'cause it's lacking. It really is, you know?" she said of the current female MC scene. "I mean, there are some dope females. Nicki is definitely holding it down. ... Then obviously there are some dope females that are coming up. But I feel like when I was out and Missy [Elliott] was out, Kim, whatever, it was kind of shared in a sense and it's not like that right now."

While it might sound far-fetched that a gang of female rappers would team up for a track in the spirit of "sharing" — say, the way Fat Joe, Kanye West, Jadakiss, Busta Ryhmes, Mos Def and Roscoe Dash can defy geography and flow for the sake of hip-hop — back in the late '90s, an all-girl posse cut wasn't jaw-dropping. Case in point: After recording "Not Tonight" for her debut, Hard Core, Kim enlisted Da Brat, Left Eye, Missy Elliott and Hot 97 radio personality-turned-rapper Angie Martinez for a do-over. The result was the chart-topping "Ladies Night Remix."

Find it hard to imagine Nicki Minaj DM'ing Azealia Banks and Iggy Banks to meet her at the studio? We do too. But Eve, glamorous in a sequined mini-dress red stiletto boots earlier this month, was still optimistic. "Hopefully, it will come back to that," she said. Though she also admitted she had no road map for how to get back to that idyllic place where there's room for more than one femcee at the top.

When we asked whether a musical tag-team could ultimately squash the beef, the "Tambourine" MC was open but added, "Well, you'd have to ask Nicki and Kim first.

"It's a good business move so, yeah, it'd be a dope record," she continued. "But will it happen? Who knows?"

Would you like to see Nicki, Lil' Kim and Eve jump on a track together? Tell us in the comments!