“These h*** don't be mad at Megan, these h*** mad at Megan's Law.” This line is from famous rapper Megan Thee Stallion’s most recent single, “Hiss,” which was released on Jan. 26, 2024. The release of this single began the climax of her rap beef/feud with well-known artist Nicki Minaj. Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj have an arguably complex history together, however, the two were not always on bad terms. In 2019, the two collaborated on the song “Hot Girl Summer” and did a livestream together after its release. However, in 2021, Nicki Minaj unfollowed Megan on social media and began releasing songs like “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” and “FTCU” in 2023, which made small jabs at the other artist, according to Vox. In the most recent events of their feud, Megan’s release of “Hiss” has seemingly caused Nicki Minaj to spiral, according to The News.
“Megan’s Law,” as defined by Wex’s legal dictionary, states that “relevant information” must be released to protect the public from “sexually violent offenders.” Despite the lack of a name drop, Nicki Minaj took this line in “Hiss” as a personal attack on her and her family because her husband, Kenneth Petty, is a registered sex offender, according to multiple news sources like Variety and Vox. The outrage caused by this apparent reference to her husband’s criminal history caused Minaj to have a public “meltdown” on social media, as explained by The News. Nicki proceeded to bring up events from Megan’s past like the death of her mother in 2019, the trial between Megan and Tory Lanez, a rapper/singer who shot her in the foot, and making jabs at Megan’s height. To me, it was disheartening to see all the nasty comments Nicki Minaj made on social media about Megan Thee Stallion. I would also like to mention that, as a former Nicki fan, it was hard to hear about how she felt about tall women since I am only an inch shorter than Megan Thee Stallion. On Jan. 29, 2024, Nicki Minaj dropped a diss track to Megan titled “Big Foot” in which she brings up these events again and also accuses Megan of having liposuction and being promiscuous in the music industry. Nicki’s comments on Megan’s body and accusations of her having procedures done was a bit ironic to me, considering Nicki’s signature look is that of her self-proclaimed Barbie Doll image. I don’t find anything wrong with body modification; however, Minaj has spoken about the work she has had done according to Pink News. Thus, I find it odd that someone who has had procedures done is using body modifications as an insult, even if Minaj has talked about regretting her plastic surgery.
I admit that my opinion on the matter is biased because of my love for Megan Thee Stallion and how she resonates with me. However, it has been hard to watch Nicki Minaj, an artist I grew up listening to, act out this way towards a fellow female musician. Nicki Minaj has a known history of starting conflicts with other female rappers who are growing in popularity. For example, Nicki Minaj started a feud with Cardi B after her song “Bodak Yellow” reached number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and it was the first time a female rapper had been at number one since Lauryn Hill’s song “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in 1998, according to Uproxx. Uproxx describes how Nicki had started throwing shade at Cardi B and the two even got into a physical altercation at a New York Fashion Week party in 2018. Nicki’s recent behavior has truly disappointed me and made me question her support for women despite her being openly credited for paving the way for women in rap and hip-hop which is a male-dominated industry.
Megan Thee Stallion went a few days without responding to any of Nicki Minaj’s digs at her until Feb. 1, 2024, when she spoke on Stationhead, a live radio app, according to HipHopDX. The radio app HipHopDX reported that Megan directly referred to a line from “Big Foot” in which Nicki takes a jab at both her flow and alleged alcoholism, to which Megan states that she’ll “put the straw back in the Hennessy” if her song “Hiss” ranks #1 on music charts. Nicki claims to have “5 extra songs” waiting for release where she plans to air out Megan’s secrets. I did find it interesting that a lot of Nicki Minaj’s digs at Megan Thee Stallion are about things that Megan could not control, like her mom dying or Stallion being shot. In fact, according to NBC News, Megan faced a lot of backlash and hate for coming out about the incident with Tory Lanez and fighting for justice in court.
Fans have gotten involved in various ways, creating a fan war in which Barbz, Nicki Minaj’s fans, and Hotties, Megan Thee Stallion’s fans, both show their support and disapproval of the artists. According to Houston Public Media, some of Nicki’s Barbz have taken to encouraging each other to damage the grave of Megan’s mother, which in my opinion is completely uncalled for. Other fans of Nicki Minaj have reportedly “retired their Barb flag” and share their feelings about Nicki's behavior, as explained by Business Insider. According to Vox, Megan’s Hotties supported the artist by posting files of “Big Foot” on social media platform X to prevent listeners from contributing to the songs’ streams. Sidney Maddon from NPR, along with other fans, criticizes Nicki’s “Big Foot,” claiming that it isn’t her best work. I can’t help but agree with the criticisms of “Big Foot” because, in comparison to “Hiss,” Nicki’s track sounds almost childish, not to mention her husband’s history, especially her outro where she rambles insults and threats addressed to Megan and even uses the phrase “reindeer games” to refer to their feud. I look forward to seeing other responses from Megan Thee Stallion, but I respect her amount of nonchalance about the situation.
By: Elaina Irving, Reporter