Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hiss” (2024)
2024 rap is off to an explosive start. If you keep track of pop culture and rap news, you’ve probably heard about the recent feud between artists Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj. Seemingly beginning with Megan’s new single, “Hiss” and escalating with Minaj’s X (formerly known as Twitter) response and Minaj’s single “Bigfoot,” two of the many questions the spectacle has raised include who dissed who first, and, when and how did celebrity fights become our problems as well?
Beyond either track, this cultural moment has implications for the ways that we identify with and labor on behalf of celebrities. Fans of one rapper or listeners of both sides of a feud often eagerly tune into diss tracks, where they can hear each side putting pen to paper to prove their superiority.
Disrespect is part and parcel of rap beefs, with both sides slinging their most creative and disparaging insults. As a result, when tempers run hot, these beefs can leave the studio and hit the streets. The online dimension of fandom has caused beefs to expand into digital space, and have consequences “‘IRL” in extreme cases. This isn’t unique to rap either. In the era of stans, fandoms are enlisted into real or imagined conflicts and take digital platforms by storm. Fans acting on behalf of their beloved celebrity
Released on January 25, Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hiss” started by saying “Fuck y’all. I ain’t gotta clear my name on a motherfuckin’ thang.” In the song, Megan bashes “Z-listers” who lie about her in order to get attention.
The key source of controversy, however, was the line “These hoes don’t be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan’s Law.” The line references a federal law which initiated public sex offender registries. Nevertheless, for Minaj, the line hit close to home, as Minaj’s husband and brother have both been convicted of sexual crimes.
Some fans were confused that Nicki Minaj deigned to respond to the song at all, since the “Megan’s Law” line is only one bar out of the 3:12 minute song which contained many more insults referencing male rappers having “fake ass accents” and getting BBL surgery, and Minaj was not mentioned by name. However, she is Mrs. Petty, as she even points out in her own song “Bigfoot,” and clearly, she felt slighted.
This line even earned Megan Thee Stallion some flak with Richard Kanka, father of the eponymous Megan Kanka, who was displeased at the mention, calling it “disrespectful and offensive”.
When asked about the intended targets of “Hiss” Megan only supplied: “A hit dog gon’ holler,” meaning, if it doesn’t apply, let it fly.
In response, Nicki Minaj has spoken, and tweeted, abundantly on the subject running up to her release of “Bigfoot” on January 29, four days after Megan’s single dropped. Minaj’s tweets and the song called Megan broke, accused her of betraying her friends, mocked her for getting shot, and accused her of “Lying on her dead mama.”
Nicki Minaj’s tweet announcing “Bigfoot.”
In the most bewildering move of this saga, Minaj tweeted an endorsement of right-winger Ben Shapiro. Shapiro said that Minaj won the feud, but then again, he has also said that rap is not music.
Overall, it could be argued that Minaj took the first shot, long before the release of “Hiss” when she put a lyric about “Not fuckin with horses” (note the ‘Stallion’ part of Megan’s stage name, which comes from her being a tall woman at 5’9”) in her single “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” on March 3 2023.
Others could argue, Megan was guilty by association because she collaborated with Cardi B on “WAP” in 2020, and Nicki Minaj and Cardi B are very much at odds, with a physical altercation having taken place between them at NYFM in 2018.
Another cause of conflict between Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj seems to be Megan’s affiliation with Roc Nation, an entertainment company owned and founded by Jay-Z, which is currently managing her.
On Jan. 29, Minaj quoted a tweet made by Roc Nation’s account promoting the new “Hiss” single and took aim at a “Desiree.” The Desiree mentioned is Desiree Perez, the CEO of Roc Nation since 2009. In another tweet, Minaj made reference to “phone calls [being made]” supposedly to block the release of “Bigfoot,” implying some sort of conspiracy. This could be a reference to the previous roadblock she encountered clearing “Bigfoot”’s beat with producer LilJuMadeDaBeat.
Nicki Minaj’s quote tweet of Rock Nation.
Even before the Megan feud, Minaj’s fan group, the Barbz, have been criticized for their overzealous defense of Minaj, which in some cases has included threats and doxxing, releasing an internet user’s personal information such as real name, living address, and employment or school. The public information of Bela Delgado, @belatown on TikTok, was released by fans of Minajafter he made a video disparaging the rapper. He claims his family also received threats, and the video was deleted shortly after posting.
Troublingly, Minaj has not denounced this illegal behavior, and in fact, quoted a tweet mocking the user’s tearful apology and retraction video with a sardonic Nene Leakes GIF, saying “True dat. Family off limits.”
Minaj’s tweet using the Nene Leakes GIF.
No doubt, many say that Barbz crossed a line by releasing the location of the cemetery where Megan’s deceased mother is buried. While currently nothing more than online bluster, it deserves mention as an example of extreme stan behavior. It merits reflection on what some fans are willing to do on the behalf of someone who might never even acknowledge them.
It’s still uncertain whether the dust will settle between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion. In a spoken segment at the end of “Bigfoot,” Nicki Minaj claimed she was still withholding more screenshots and facts as ammo, to be released barring Megan’s prompt public apology. Minaj also claims to have four or five more songs ready to release.
As of yet, Megan Thee Stallion has not acknowledged “Bigfoot.”
Arguments over who won have yet to cease online. I’d rather let the rap speak for itself.
