[6] Although Ma and Minaj shared words of encouragement in recent years,[7] their relationship soon soured behind the scenes by 2016, and they began releasing verses and songs with lyrics aimed at each other, including Ma's "Money Showers" with Fat Joe and Minaj's "Swalla" with Jason Derulo & "Make Love" with Gucci Mane, which was released two days before "Shether".

[12] The song was later banned from iTunes, SoundCloud and YouTube due to copyright violation,[13] and has since been removed from all radio and online streaming services.

[14] According to TMZ, contrary to initial reports, Nas had nothing to do with the ban and that he did approve the use of his beat, and suggested that Universal, which has intellectual ownership of the song, took action to have it removed.

[16] The lyrics of "Shether" contain a number of accusations and allegations regarding Minaj's personal and professional life and conduct towards others, including fellow music artists; Ma makes several accusations about Minaj's sexual affairs with members of Cash Money Records and other celebrities.

[20] Mitchell Peters from Billboard called it a "scathing diss track" that "doesn't show any mercy for Minaj.

[22] A week later, in an interview hosted by BuzzFeed News, Ma stated that she had second thoughts about releasing the diss track, and commented on the difficulties of being a woman in the music industry.