Megan Thee Stallion released her scathing song “Hiss” on Friday – a powerful diss track aimed at the haters and critics she has faced throughout her career.
She jokingly mentioned Mariah Carey and Kris Jenner in the track and appeared to make clear references to Drake and her ex-boyfriend Tory Lanez. But her words hurt Nicki Minaj.
“Hiss” has climbed high on the streaming charts with more than 5 million plays on Spotify since Friday, Jan. 26, creating a buzz throughout the rap community and a social media firestorm among Minaj fans sparked claims that Megan directly insulted them on the track.
Minaj, who released her new album, “Pink Friday 2” was one of the most vocal critics of Megan's song nearly two months ago and even recorded her own dissident track called “Big Foot,” which has also climbed the streaming charts since its release Monday.
Minaj has threatened to release more songs aimed at damaging Megan's career unless she apologizes for what she said in “Hiss.”
Here's what we know about the feud so far.
What is “Hiss” about?
Megan wastes no time getting upset about “Hiss.”.” She called on Friday “The Breakfast Club” and “Hiss” are about anyone who uses their name to get attention online.
“If a snake feels like you've been playing and is swaying back and forth a whole lot, that basically means you should back off. I hear you, I see you, get up from me now,” she said. “Basically, that’s what it means.”
“I say a hit dog will roar. That's it. Whoever feels it, feels it,” she added.
Megan Thee Stallion opens up about a number of challenges she's faced while working in the industry. She also referenced what critics said about her past relationship with rapper Tory Lanez.
Is Megan Thee Stallion referring to Nicki Minaj?
Although no names are mentioned in this song, some “Hiss” lyrics also appear to refer to Minaj. One line, fans say, seems aimed at Minaj's family: “These h—s aren't mad at Megan, these h—s are mad at Megan's Law.”
“Megan's Law” could refer to a federal law that requires police to release information about convicted and registered sex offenders to the public. It was named after Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old who was raped and killed in 1994 by her neighbor, a convicted child molester. After Megan Kanka's death, her family lobbied for a law that would require police to inform communities about sex offenders, pointing out that they would not have let their daughter cross the street if they had known about their neighbor's past would have known.
It appears that Minaj and many on social media believed that the dissent was directed at Minaj's husband Kenneth Petty – a registered sex offender who served four years in prison after his death Convicted of attempted rape in 1995 and placed on probation in 2022 for failing To as a sex offender in California.
Another line – “I can never be judged by a b—h who danced and made R. Kelly viral” – could also be a reference to Minaj, as she released a song called “Up in Flames” in 2018 “, where she cheekily mentioned R. Kelly with the sentence: “Even R. Kelly couldn't touch the child.”
Representatives for Megan Thee Stallion did not respond to a request for comment about the lyrics and whether she was directly referring to Minaj and Petty.
Nicki Minaj responds with “Big Foot” dissongs
While the internet is abuzz with theories about Megan's lyrics, Minaj went to X (formerly Twitter) to express their displeasure with the song and announce their successor “Big Foot”. which she published on Monday.
The title appeared to be a reference to Megan's 5'10″ height and the fact that Lanez shot her in the foot.
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In the song (which was released to streaming with an a cappella version), Minaj claims that Megan lied about the shooting incident with Lanez, while referring to the death of Megan's mother, saying, “Curse your dead mother , if you lie” and “F— will you get shot without a scar?”
Minaj also accuses Megan of sleeping with her best friend's partner and having ghostwriters. She claims Megan lied during her interview with host CBS in 2022 Gayle King. In that interview, Megan said she was worried about her life during the Lanez incident.
“I never put my hand on anyone,” Megan told King. “I never raised my voice too loudly. This was one of those moments where it shouldn’t have gotten so crazy.”
King later wrote for Oprah's website that she believed Megan's account of the evening and stood by the music artist.
“I'm so fascinated that people still don't believe she's telling the truth. How can this be?” King wrote. “You've heard all the rumors; please listen to what she has to say and then ask yourself, 'What's in it for her to lie?'
Did Megan react to Nicki Minaj's diss track?
Megan hasn't directly responded to Big Foot yet, although she did post a photo to her Instagram Story on Friday of herself laughing after Minaj shared a snippet of the song ahead of its release.
Representatives for Minaj did not respond to a request for comment.
Minaj says on X that she has five songs ready to release in case Megan so much as “breathes wrong.” Minaj also asks Megan to apologize for her comments on “Hiss.”
“I don’t think you want the next part of this song,” she says on “Big Foot.”