The Most Brutal Hip-Hop Couple Breakups
The music business and rap industry are known to cause a lot of heartbreak, but probably not as much as the messy business of love and relationships. Through the years, there have been several high-profile romances in the hip-hop world that have grabbed people's attention. And just like most times when celebs start dating each other, their respective fan bases get completely excited about it.
So naturally, when the two A-listers break up, those same fans choose sides and so does the public much of the time. Remember when it was reported that Cardi B filed for divorce from Offset after they had a lot of problems and he admitted to cheating? Right away, many of her fans blasted the Migos rapper and assumed his cheating caused the split. But plenty of Offset's fans defended him and didn't think it was a bad thing that he and Cardi parted ways. Eventually, the "Bodak Yellow" rapper called off the divorce and continued with the marriage. But what other hip-hop couples have split through the years and caused a big fuss in the media? We've chosen a few of them and listed some of the most brutal breakups.
Kanye West and Amber Rose may have split because of Kim Kardashian
Before Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's union made headlines, the rapper's relationship with Amber Rose was all the talk. The two reportedly met at the video for Ludacris' 2008 single "What Them Girls Like" and became hot and heavy soon afterward. The former couple dated for two years before splitting, and West eventually started dating Kardashian, who he ended up marrying. Rose, meanwhile, began a relationship with rapper Wiz Khalifa, who she had a child with. At first, the split between West and Rose wasn't completely brutal, but in 2012 things got messy after Rose called Kardashian a "homewrecker."
"Kim is one of the main reasons why me and Kanye are not together," she told Star, according to Radar. "She was sending pictures, and I was like, 'Kim, just stop. Don't be that person' ... I thought at least she'd be woman enough to respond to me. She never responded." And things got even nastier after that, because in 2015 during an interview on The Breakfast Club, West said that he had to take "30 showers" after he and Rose split so Kardashian would be okay with dating him. Rose eventually responded on Twitter, writing, "@kanyewest after all these years I never snitched on u and I don't plan on starting now. We once loved each other so I won't do u like that." Ouch.
Nas and Kelis accused each other of some nasty behavior
Nas and Kelis tied the knot in 2005 at Morningside Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and divorced in 2010. For the most part, they kept quiet about the split, but that changed in 2018 when Kelis accused Nas of abuse in an interview with Hollywood Unlocked, a claim that was never proven. "It was really dark. A lot of drinking. A lot of mental and physical abuse and it got to the point where if I wasn't pregnant, I might have stayed with him," she explained. Nas vehemently denied his ex's claims in a lengthy Instagram post that he shared in September 2018 and also accused her of using their son Knight to hurt him.
"The price I pay to see my son," he wrote in the now-deleted message that was published by Vibe. "A son needs his father. So many absentee fathers out here, and here I am being attacked by your accusations simply because I got us in court to help fix this, the custody matter?" Nas also said in that message the court granted him joint custody and Kelis violated it. Then it was reported that Kelis told him she was moving with their son and her husband Mike Mora to Cartagena, Columbia after buying a farm there. But The Blast revealed that she changed her mind about the move and relocated to Temecula, California instead.
Future and Ciara fought over their son
It seems the public first got confirmation that Future and Ciara were an item when Future talked about the R&B singer in a 2013 interview with DJ J1, saying, "The chemistry is there. It's amazing. She makes me happy, I make her smile." The two eventually got engaged, and in 2014 on The View Ciara announced that she and the "Mask Off" rhymer were expecting a child. But not very long afterward, the wedding was called off because it was said that Future cheated on Ciara with his wardrobe consultant Tyrina Lee, a claim that he denied in a 2015 interview with HuffPost.
Then, after giving birth to son Future Zahir, Ciara married NFL star Russell Wilson in July of 2016, which started another round of beef with the rapper over custody and child support. According to Ciara, Future frequently missed visitation (via TMZ), while he said she shouldn't have introduced their son to Wilson so soon. "You don't even bring a man around your son," said Future during an interview on Beats 1 (via Hollywood Life). "You know this dude for a few months and you're bringing him around your kid? Who does that? Nobody does that." Ciara filed a $15 million defamation lawsuit during the back and forth, which she later dropped. It'll probably be some time before people forget how much of a mess her split with Future was.
Treach and Pepa hurled allegations back and forth
Naughty by Nature's Treach and Salt-N-Pepa's Pepa reportedly dated for years before exchanging vows in 1999, but the marriage didn't last very long because they were divorced by 2001. Then when Pepa released her book Let's Talk About Pep seven years later, she accused the "O.P.P." rapper of physically abusing her, which he denied. In 2017, Treach posted an accusatory message on Instagram about his ex, despite the book coming out several years earlier. "Somebody tell my ex-wife ... your book is full of lies," he wrote. "You sold your soul to a hell hole and put my kids in the middle for ratings."
Meanwhile, some of Pepa's claims were shown in Salt-N-Pepa's Lifetime biopic, which she also talked about during a New York Post interview. "In the movie, I didn't just want to focus on the negative things between us," said Pep about her turbulent past with her ex. "I wanted to be fair to [Treach] and show that despite the bad, he was a good guy, too." In time, the two turned a corner and started getting along, and Pepa even went to Treach's wedding in 2019 when he married a woman named Cicely Evans. "We have a love-hate relationship, as always," he told The Breakfast Club in 2020.
Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill fought on Twitter
In the beginning, there were a lot of questions surrounding Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill's relationship after they were seen hanging out in photos. Were they dating? Just friends? Collaborating on music? But Minaj gave the most telling answer when she spoke to Vogue in 2015. "We've been friends for a very, very long time, and he's been around for a lot of things that I've gone through," she stated. Then a couple of months after that interview, Mill gave full confirmation of the relationship in a now-deleted Instagram message published by MTV. "Find a woman that you think is strong enough 2 help you takeover the world!" he wrote, while including the hashtags "#imlucky" and "@nickiminaj."
But many probably called the "Championships" rapper unlucky after reading a tweet that Minaj sent on January 5, 2017. "To confirm, yes I am single," she tweeted. Minaj then said she was dating her teenage sweetheart Kenneth Petty, which led to even more problems between her and Mill. First, Minaj and Petty argued with him after they all ran into each other in January 2020 in a West Hollywood store. Then the rappers moved their argument to Twitter. "You beat your own sister and taped it ... Kicked me in front your mother," wrote "The Pinkprint" creator. "The only way you can try to kill my career is to say I beat women," Mill shot back, before bringing up Minaj's brother being convicted of predatory sexual assault in 2017.
Saweetie and Quavo had a very public split
Saweetie and Quavo had their respective fanbases all giddy when Saweetie confirmed that she was dating the Migos rapper while a guest on The Real in 2018. But those same fans began choosing sides after the "My Type" performer tweeted that they parted ways. "I'm single," she wrote in March of 2021. "I've endured too much betrayal and hurt behind the scenes ... Presents don't band aid scars and the love isn't real when the intimacy is given to other women." Quavo responded to the tweet later that day. "I know you want to make this into a show so I'll play my part just this one time," he wrote. "I had love for you and disappointed you did all that. You are not the woman I thought you were. I wish you nothing but the best," added the Georgia native.
Then, in late March of 2021, TMZ released a video that showed the two rappers fighting in an elevator that's located in an apartment building in North Hollywood, California "This unfortunate incident happened a year ago, while we have reconciled since then and moved past this particular disagreement, there were simply too many other hurdles to overcome in our relationship," Saweetie told TMZ about the elevator fight. Quavo also issued a statement to Billboard and said he has "real gratitude" for what he shared with his former flame.
Iggy Azalea and Playboi Carti had a not-so-merry Christmas
Talk of Iggy Azalea dating Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti began in 2018, according to Billboard but they never truly addressed it. But that changed when Azalea blasted Carti on December 24, 2020, one day before his "Whole Lotta Red" album was released. According to the Australian rapper, Carti abandoned her and their son Onyx on Christmas Day to attend his release party. "I would never decide to do something of my own free will that meant missing a milestone moment with my son & if you do you're trash," tweeted Azalea.
She then sent more messages on Christmas Day. "Too bad you got an album out but can't even come to Christmas with your own son," tweeted the "Fancy" rapper in a now-deleted message shared by Rap-Up. "Imagine not flying out your family on Christmas but you have the girl you cheated on me my entire pregnancy at your album party and magically me and my son can't come for Christmas any more?" The woman who Azalea is accused of being a homewrecker is named Brandi Marion, who responded on Instagram. "So let's get this straight," her post began. "I'm not a home wrecker, I would never knowingly be with someone that is in a relationship. Ever." Marion also said that Carti told her that his relationship with Azalea was over when they met.
Tyga and Blac Chyna were affected by the Kardashian clan
You might need a scorecard for this one because it involves surprising plot twists, multiple characters, and accusations of betrayal. The main stars in this California saga are Blac Chyna and Tyga, who were a couple between 2011 and 2014, and had a son named King Cairo Stevenson, born in October of 2012. After parting ways, the former couple fought a good deal online, like once when Chyna called herself a "Gold Digger" on Twitter, saying that she never loved Tyga. She accused the rapper of hacking her account and writing those words himself, TMZ reported.
But the real drama started when Tyga started dating Kylie Jenner, which was in 2014. Jenner is the younger sister of Chyna's friend at the time, Kim Kardashian, and soon after, Chyna began dating Rob Kardashian — Jenner and Kim's brother. Then, Chyna and Rob got engaged after 10 weeks, but it didn't take long for problems to begin. "It's impossible to have a positive relationship with so much negativity from the media and outsiders," wrote Rob on social media in 2016, according to In Touch.
However, things seemed good between the former couple when Chyna said she and Rob were expecting in 2016, and eventually they had a daughter named Dream – but problems continued since Rob posted "revenge porn" photos of his ex on Instagram, that he since-deleted (via Insider).
YG and Kehlani dealt with a kissing scandal
Singer Kehlani and rapper YG went public with their relationship in September 2019 while attending the Kith show at New York Fashion Week, which seemed to have a lot of people excited. The talk surrounding the relationship only grew when the former couple released their joint song "Konclusions," just before Valentine's Day 2020. But just a few days later, Kehlani released the song "Valentine's Day (Shameful)," where she implied that YG cheated on her. That's because, in October of 2019, it seemed like he was caught kissing another woman outside of Los Angeles' Poppy NightClub, which he denied, according to TMZ.
But based on Kehlani's lyrics in "Valentine's Day (Shameful)," the scandal was just too much for her to get over. "Torn between crying for help and not letting them see me sweat/But it's certain sh*t I can't forget/I won't get over it easy, sh*t makes me queasy," she sang. Then, during a 2020 interview on The Breakfast Club, the "While We Wait" singer said she learned that YG wasn't honest with her during their relationship after looking through his phone. "I've seen his phone and there just was things that I just didn't need to see that were not surface-level things," she explained. "They were very deep and intricate and just I felt like, 'Oh, maybe I need to take a step back because I don't think we're on the same page of this.'" Some might say that was a good idea.
Big Sean and Naya Rivera had a rocky romance
Several days after the tragic disappearance and death of actress Naya Rivera was announced, her former fiancé Big Sean broke his silence on Instagram, writing, "I appreciate and cherish everything that ever happened between us." Sean and Rivera met on Twitter, and they were engaged shortly after, which Rivera's rep confirmed with Just Jared. But in Spring of 2014, Sean's rep told TMZ the engagement was off. Plus, Rivera implied that her ex cheated with Ariana Grande — who the rapper eventually dated. She also mentioned the pop star in her 2016 book "Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up."
"We'd been fighting for five straight days while he was traveling, and then on the one day that he was back in L.A., he said he didn't want to see me," wrote Rivera. "Well, a**hole, I've got a key to your house ... I walk in, go downstairs, and guess what little girl is sitting cross-legged on the couch listening to music? ... It rhymes with 'Smariana Schmande.'" Suddenly, In Sept of 2014, Sean released the scathing track, "I Don't F*ck with You," a cut that many suspected was about Rivera. He talked about the song with Vulture in September of 2020 and said it's now "hurtful" to have it associated with her. Rivera died on July 8, 2020, after drowning in California's Lake Piru. Her body was recovered five days later.
Chris Brown and Rihanna tried to rekindle things
If there was a relationship that instantly got the attention of fans, the media, and everyone in between, it was Rihanna and Chris Brown, who, although they're R&B artists and not hip-hop, we've included them on this list for their close association with rap culture.
The image of the young couple having a perfect relationship ended after Brown assaulted Rihanna on February 8, 2009, in Los Angeles, California on the way to the Grammy Awards. He was soon charged with felony assault, according to Billboard, which he pleaded guilty to and received five years of probation,180 days of community service, and had to take a year-long "domestic violence counseling" class, per CNN. He spoke about the assault in a 2017 documentary titled "Chris Brown: Welcome to My Life" and said the argument was over another woman. "I look back at that picture and I'm just like ... 'That's not me, bro ... I hate it to this day. That's going to haunt me forever,'" Brown said about the photo of a battered Rihanna.
Then there was talk that the R&B pair rekindled their relationship, which RiRi confirmed in a 2013 Rolling Stone interview. "Even if it's a mistake, it's my mistake," she explained. "It's different now. We don't have those types of arguments anymore." Ultimately, Brown revealed the relationship was over for a second time on Australia's Kyle and Jackie Show in May 2013 (via Page Six).