With “Hiss” and “Huge Foot,” what’s the Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj beef about?

Rap famous person Megan Thee Stallion is embarking on a brand new, impartial period. Following a protracted authorized battle along with her former file label and the trial of her former affiliate Tory Lanez for taking pictures her within the foot, Megan appeared poised to show her traumatic experiences right into a compelling, emotionally uncooked album, with an accompanying tour within the works. However first, she has some beef to settle — or possibly not — with a fellow emcee and now rival, Nicki Minaj.

Final Friday, Megan dropped her newest single, “Hiss,” by which she takes photographs at a number of unnamed targets. Except for the overall crowd of on-line haters, followers have linked a few of her jabs to Drake and an ex-boyfriend, rapper Pardison Fontaine.

Nevertheless, one explicit lyric — “These hoes don’t be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan’s Legislation” — stood out. It references the federal regulation requiring details about registered intercourse offenders to be publicized, which appeared to ring a bell with Minaj. Her husband, Kenneth “Zoo” Petty, is affected by this laws, as he’s a stage 2 registered intercourse offender within the state of New York.

A couple of days later, the “Tremendous Bass” singer counteracted with a diss observe — though she criticized PopBase on X for calling it that — titled “Huge Foot.” Regardless of the tune racking up tens of millions of views and streams, it has largely been acquired poorly by critics and social media customers throughout each Megan’s and Minaj’s fan bases. It looks like a turning level in Minaj’s profession as one of the crucial revered feminine rappers within the sport.

Picture by Jason Koerner/Getty Pictures for iHeartRadio

What began the meat?

Minaj and Megan weren’t at all times on unhealthy phrases. In 2019, they collaborated on Megan’s single “Scorching Woman Summer time” and filmed a music video wearing matching outfits and wigs. Through the tune’s launch, the 2 appeared on Instagram Reside collectively, and Megan gushed about Minaj on X. In mild of current occasions, a consumer reply to Megan’s publish warning her that “this peace ain’t gonna final” has gone viral. It appears that evidently instinct was spot-on.

It’s unclear when issues turned bitter between the previous acquaintances. Many have speculated that Minaj took difficulty with Megan’s collaborations with Cardi B. The pair collabed most famously on the 2020 hit “WAP” and extra not too long ago on 2023’s “Bongos.” Minaj beforehand sparred with the “Bodak Yellow” rapper after each featured on Migos’s 2017 tune “MotorSport,” which escalated right into a bodily altercation. Nevertheless, in a November 2020 interview, Megan claimed that her relationship with Minaj hadn’t modified regardless of her affiliation with Cardi.

By January 2021, although, Minaj had unfollowed Megan on Instagram. She additionally launched the observe “Seeing Inexperienced,” which has a line about “alcoholics” that’s purported to be about Megan. (Megan is understood for her signature social gathering trick by which she pours alcohol into ladies’s mouths.)

The next yr, Minaj went on her Beats 1 present Queen Radio to air out an nameless movie star who allegedly tried to strain her into consuming whereas she was pregnant along with her baby. She additionally claimed this individual suggested her to “go to the clinic.” After the printed, Meg referred to as the allegations a “lie” on X.

Minaj seemingly struck on the Grammy winner once more on her 2023 single “Ruby Pink Da Sleaze” with the road “I don’t fuck with horses since Christopher Reeves.” A bar on the tune “FTCU” — “Keep in your Tory lane” — has additionally been interpreted as a hit at Megan, particularly her extremely publicized trial with R&B singer Tory Lanez.

Nevertheless, the discharge of “Hiss” on January 26 escalated a simmering, considerably forgettable beef to a different stage. The “Megan’s Legislation” line despatched the web right into a tizzy, with listeners instantly connecting the lyric to Minaj’s partner. When Minaj reconnected along with her high-school boyfriend in 2018, followers shortly found his felony historical past, together with a 1995 conviction for the tried rape of a then-16-year-old lady. Since then, Petty’s sufferer has been vocal in regards to the threats she’s acquired from the couple.

Over the weekend, Minaj took a number of digs at Megan on X, mocking her assault by Lanez and even her mom, who handed away from mind most cancers in 2019. Many of those remarks ended up on “Huge Foot” (the title being a jab Megan’s tall body), which was launched on Sunday night time. Within the roughly four-minute observe, Minaj recycles on-line conspiracies and unfavorable feedback surrounding Megan’s trial with Lanez and references her deceased mom a number of occasions. Three minutes in, the music drops out, and Minaj goes on an ASMR-y rant, promising a “second installment.” Regardless of its provocative lyrics, the tune has but to elicit a direct response from Megan.

Is that this the feud followers need?

As rap turns into an more and more dominant power in mainstream tradition, beefs have developed into extremely anticipated spectacles. The outcomes can vary from shockingly amusing — like Pusha T exposing Drake’s secret son — to lethal — just like the East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry of the ‘90s, most famously. Regardless, there’s a stage of novelty required to maintain the general public enthralled. Of their finest iterations, beefs are workouts in mythmaking, a possibility for a rapper to achieve legendary standing or reaffirm their energy.

Within the case of Minaj vs. Megan, although, the novelty side is lacking. The obvious digs at one another are constructed upon info that followers are already nicely conscious of. Moreover, it’s laborious to identify an upside for both artist’s profession, or perhaps a clear victor.

On one hand, “Hiss” has been acquired nicely on-line by Megan’s followers and basic listeners. As of publication, 5 variations of the tune occupy High 10 spots on the iTunes charts, along with the observe topping the Apple Music High 100 charts. A lot of that is owed to the profitable mobilization of her followers, generally known as Hotties. When Minaj launched “Huge Foot,” Megan followers even shared a file of the tune on X so listeners wouldn’t contribute to Minaj’s streams.

Then again, the therapy Megan is at present experiencing by the Barbz is kind of hellish. As anticipated, Minaj’s fan base is working simply as laborious because the Hotties to amplify their queen — though their techniques look lots completely different. On Tuesday, TMZ reported that the Texas cemetery the place Megan’s mom is buried had notified the police and elevated safety personnel after Minaj’s stans leaked the tackle on social media. Followers have additionally doxed customers criticizing Minaj’s response to Megan, together with the TikTok account @belatown, whose rant in opposition to Minaj went viral.

It’s not simply the poisonous stan exercise that’s been laborious to watch. Minaj’s trolling of Meg doesn’t learn as an equal or honest response to Megan’s supposed diss, notably the mocking of her critical assault. Even with the inherently petty nature of a diss observe, most can agree that referencing somebody’s felony file isn’t in any respect corresponding to weaponizing the trauma of dropping a mum or dad or being shot by a person.

Notably after the cyberbullying and smear marketing campaign Megan skilled throughout the Tory Lanez trial, it’s laborious to not really feel sympathetic for a younger rapper whose profession has already been so stricken by misogynoir. Proper now, although, Megan’s wisest transfer is perhaps her continued silence, leaving spectators to dwell within the disagreeable aftertaste of “Huge Foot.”

What’s going to this imply for his or her careers?

For probably the most half, Minaj — very similar to fellow femcee Doja Cat — has defied the legal guidelines of “cancellation” all through her tumultuous profession. Her catalog continues to generate tens of millions of streams. She’s a grasp of memes and sometimes very humorous on Instagram Reside and in interviews. However her low blows and the enabling of her stans’ poor habits have noticeably began to show a number of her former defenders off.

Whereas Minaj has exchanged phrases with males, her propensity to feud with ladies feels at odds with the message of feminine empowerment that makes this period of rap so thrilling. That isn’t to say that feminine rappers should at all times current a united entrance on the premise of their marginalization. (Up to now, ladies have contributed to some legendary hip-hop feuds.) However it’s good to see feminine rappers exhibit the identical simple camaraderie their male counterparts do — more often than not — and construct relationships that result in iconic collaborations, similar to “WAP.”

It’s not shocking that Minaj’s collaborations with rappers Sexxy Pink, Doja Cat, and Ice Spice have offered among the most enjoyable and satisfying moments in her current profession. Nonetheless, her shows of feminine peership all through her profession have been uncommon and short-lived.

This newest feud has additionally brought on critics to query the path of Minaj’s artistry. It’s secure to say “Huge Foot” is hardly a lyrical match for earlier diss tracks like 2012’s “Silly Hoe.” On the time, the one appeared to level at Lil’ Kim whereas sustaining sufficient ambiguity to exist by itself as an anti-hater anthem. However the launch of “Huge Foot” is notably missing that kind of finesse.

In a evaluation for Advanced, author Peter A. Berry criticized the dearth of “craft and care” put into “Huge Foot.” He writes, “In a Nicki period that’s been characterised by covert cattiness, this was all however a correct course correction. As a substitute, it looks like blowing up the entire route, particularly when contemplating different current situations of thrilling rap beef.” (For her half, Minaj claims the observe is only a joke.)

Regardless of her earlier resilience from backlash, it looks as if Minaj’s actions have gotten too ugly for lots of followers. Sadly, there’s nonetheless a chance that issues may get uglier.