Their hot girl summer has turned into an icy war zone.
Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault. There’s layers to rap beef. Some feuds can be deeply unserious, yet harmless enough for all those involved to move on and become friends in the future. Meanwhile, there are other back-and-forths that are uncomfortably tense, and fans (or artists themselves) will use dark tactics such as doxxing to escalate the situation. It’s an unfortunate tale as old as time, and the latest example is Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion’s scathing beef.
On Jan. 26, Megan released her loaded single, “Hiss.” She addressed those who’ve mocked her in the last three years, and included one specific bar about registered sex offenders that caught Nicki’s attention. She perceived the reference was about her husband, and after two days of relentless social media posts, she responded with her own diss track, “Big Foot.”
This feud has since taken a grim turn, and largely confused those who weren’t aware of the animosity that lingered between the two rappers. It’s an understandable reaction, as Nicki and Megan have been quietly throwing shots at one another for nearly two years. Their beef has now swelled to new heights, and there’s a chance it could elevate higher.
So, how did the two reach this point? Let’s untangle their history.
At the heart of many feuds is a once fruitful friendship. As Megan (and her South-inspired alter-egos) began making waves in 2018, many artists welcomed her to the music scene — including Nicki. In July 2019, the Pinkprint rapper invited Megan on her Instagram Live, and the two exchanged compliments that showed they respected each other’s craft. They also announced a collaboration was on the horizon.
One month later, Nicki and Megan delivered on their collab promise. The duo released “Hot Girl Summer,” proving that being a hottie wasn’t limited to just one season.
Shortly after the music video released, the two hopped on Instagram Live to share more moments of their friendship. While their interaction seemed sweet at the time, it would later serve as one of the alleged starting points of their beef.
One year after “Hot Girl Summer,” Megan released another notable collaboration: 2020’s “WAP” with Cardi B. The erotic track quickly became the first female rap collab to debut on the Billboard Hot 100, and later that month, Nicki complimented Megan’s work ethic in a Variety feature. It seemed her and Megan’s bond was still going strong; though, fans theorize this duet was the major source of their friction. At the time, Cardi B and Nicki’s ongoing feud was very well-known.
However, in November of that year, Megan denied the rumors that her and Nicki were on bad terms. In an interview with Chicago’s 107.5 WGCI, the Good News rapper revealed their bond “hasn’t changed” since the release of “Hot Girl Summer,” and that working with Cardi wasn’t a diss to their friendship.
“I didn’t feel like I had to call [Nicki] first,” Megan said at the time. “I mean, because at the end of the day, I’m still an artist and I should be free to work with whoever I want to work with. My personal relationship with anybody doesn’t affect what I choose to do as an artist.”
Though Megan cleared the air, those rival rumors continued to grow. Sometime in January 2021, Nicki reportedly unfollowed Megan on Instagram. At the time, many fans and celebrities were publicly choosing sides in the shooting incident between Megan and Tory Lanez. And by the sound of Nicki’s alleged sneak disses from later that summer, it seems she wasn’t Team Megan.
In May 2021, Nicki released “Seeing Green” as a new addition to her 2009 mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, on all streaming platforms. The track features some promising bars from Drake and Lil Wayne; however, it was Nicki’s verse that made fans do a double take. There, she raps: “One Margarita pizza with Parmesan and garlic / These b*tches thirsty, I can see why they alcoholics.”
Some fans believed this was a dig at Megan, who had become known for “driving the boat” — her term for doing shots straight from the bottle with friends.
It seems this is where the true mess began. Before we dive into the hearsay, it’s important to note the life updates Nicki went through in September 2020. That month, she announced the birth of her son (nicknamed “Papa Bear”) on Instagram. She shares the toddler with husband Kenneth Petty, whom she married in 2019.
The two first dated in the late 1990s, when Nicki was 17 and Petty — who’s four years older than her — was possibly around 21 years old. This unsavory timeline of their relationship would be one of many complaints fans made about her husband. More on that later.
In September 2022, Nicki reflected on her pre-pregnancy days on her Queen Radio podcast. Specifically, she alleged an unnamed friend told her to get an abortion after she refused to drink alcohol. “Imagine telling someone you ‘didn’t want to drink,’ because at the time you were possibly pregnant. Imagine that person said, ‘Oh girl, you can go to the clinic,’” Nicki said at the time.
Nicki also mentioned that person didn’t publicly congratulate her on her pregnancy, but made time to praise Beyoncé for “sending them flowers.” Her words felt specific to Megan, who received a bouquet of florals from the Renaissance star following her shooting injury in July 2020. It wasn’t long until Barbz hinted that Nicki was speaking about the fellow rapper, and Megan denied the allegations on social media.
While Nicki’s one-liners in “Seeing Green” were subtle, her aim at Megan was far more noticeable on 2023’s “Red Ruby Da Sleaze.” In fact, fans believe Minaj shaded her former collaborator three times.
In verse one, she rhymes: “Seven-hundred on them horses when we fixin’ to leave / But I don’t f*ck with horses since Christopher Reeves.” Well, Megan does refer to herself as a stallion.
The digs continued in verse two, where Nicki seemingly references Megan’s Super Bowl campaign with Doritos from 2022. “Dorito b*tches mad that they nachos,” she raps.
Lastly, fans theorized her “.40 cal a make them dance like a go-go” was a swipe at the Tory Lanez trial. Three months before this track released, Megan testified in court that Lanez shouted “dance, b*tch!” before shooting her in both feet. Lanez was found guilty shortly after her testimony.
Two days before Megan released “Hiss” on Jan. 26, she teased its cutthroat opening monologue on Instagram. Her stance was clear: She was aiming at her rivals, and many fans suspected the rapper might share a few quips about Nicki. While she didn’t name Nicki on the record, Megan dropped a bar that spoke to the fellow rapper’s family.
In the first verse, Megan spits: “These hoes don’t be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan’s Law / I don’t really know what the problem is, but I guarantee y’all don’t want me to start.” Her use of the legal term Megan’s Law — which requires the disclosure of information about registered sex offenders for public protection — feels pertinent to Petty’s criminal history.
In 1995, Petty was convicted for the first-degree attempted rape of 16-year-old Jennifer Hough, and he spent four years in prison. Once he went public with Nicki in 2018, fans became familiar with the case and the rapper defended him numerous times— including allegedly harassing Hough. The criticism only grew in 2020, when Petty was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender when he moved to live with Nicki in California. He was later sentenced to three years’ probation in July 2022.
Fans also theorized Megan’s wordplay was a nod to Nicki’s brother Jelani Maraj, who was convicted of predatory sexual assault of a child in January 2020. This one bar set social media ablaze, and kicked off Nicki’s multiple-day spiral on social media.
Shortly after the release of “Hiss,” Nicki shared her barrage of thoughts on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram. First, she lengthily tweeted — 3,100 characters, to be exact — that she “doesn’t condone bullying,” before unloading several insults at Megan. Nicki claimed the Traumazine rapper was a “manipulative liar,” a “flop” who relied on ghost writers, and a “disgusting serpent.”
Nicki doubled down on her disses at Megan on Instagram Live later that night. There, she once again claimed that Megan was a liar, but in regards to the shooting incident involving Lanez. (At the same time, she also contradicted her stance by mocking Megan’s foot injury.) She also teased what would later be the first verse of “Big Foot,” rapping: “Bad b*tch, she like 6 foot / I call her Big Foot / The b*tch fell off, I said get up on your good foot.”
Later in the live, Nicki shut down the “Megan’s Law” bar and alleged that Megan “lied on her own mother,” who died in 2019. Nicki has yet to add context to that claim.
Nicki also hopped on a streaming app called StationHead and alluded that Megan was the one who “told her to go to the clinic.” Specifically, she noted this conversation happened during their Instagram Live session for “Hot Girl Summer” in 2019, and fans began to theorize when the comment was made.
After a few more tweets and unhinged accusations, Nicki released “Big Foot” on Jan. 28. This drop would unravel into dark territory on X, where Barbz were allegedly harassing people who criticized the track.
Shortly after “Big Foot,” Minaj revealed she had “four more disses” in her arsenal if Megan responded to her. It seems those tracks might not be released, as Megan has been quietly celebrating the success of “Hiss” on Instagram. Minaj has also a bit less chatty since she dropped “Big Foot;” however, fans believe their beef isn’t over yet.
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