Hip-hop had one hell of a weekend.
The latest celebrity feud is between Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj, and hip-hop experts are already weighing in on who won — so far.
It all started on Friday when Megan dissed Nicki in her new single, “Hiss,” prompting Nicki to reply with her own track. Although Megan didn’t name anyone while taking a bevy of pointed jabs in the lyrics, many fans believed one line targeted Nicki Minaj and her husband, Kenneth Petty.
“These hoes don’t be mad at Megan/these hoes mad at Megan’s Law,” Megan, 28, rapped. “I don’t really know what the problem is/but I guarantee y’all don’t want me to start.”
In the US, Megan’s Law requires all states to establish sex offender registries. Minaj’s husband, Petty, is a registered sex offender who previously served four years in prison after being convicted in 1995 for the attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl.
Minaj, 41, appeared to take the lyric personally, prompting her to bash Megan on social media platforms for several days publicly. Minaj referred to Megan as a “manipulative liar” and referenced her late mother several times. Minaj also suggested that Megan lied about Tory Lanez, who she said shot her in July 2020.
A jury convicted Lanez in December 2022 of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence in relation to the shooting. Lanez maintained his innocence throughout the trial.
So far, Megan has remained relatively mum on Minaj’s responses.
The mostly one-sided drama came to a head on Monday when Minaj released her diss track aimed at Megan titled “Big Foot.”
“Bad bitch, she like 6 foot/ I call her big foot/ the bitch fell off/I said get up on your good foot,” Minaj said in the lyrics, in a purported reference to Megan being shot in the foot.
Some of hip-hop’s loudest voices are already weighing in on who’s winning the rap beef.
Representatives for Minaj and Megan did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.
Charlamagne tha God said Minaj fumbled her diss record
Charlamagne Tha God and his cohost DJ Envy of the syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club” discussed the ongoing feud on Monday.
After playing the first bar of “Nicki Minaj’s” song, Big Foot,” which referenced Megan’s deceased mother, Charlamagne explained why the song — which’s already racked up over 1 million listens on YouTube —didn’t leave a lasting impression on him.
“That ain’t it, Nicki,” Charlamagne said. “I don’t know who Nicki got around her, but there’s absolutely no reason that should have left the studio.”
“I’m glad Nicki decided to finally rap and not just tweet, but no, that ain’t it,” he continued.
Charlamagne said that some stand-out bars fell flat because Minaj had already shared the sentiments with fans on Instagram Live and X, formerly Twitter. “It ain’t hit the same,” he added.
Charlamagne also dinged Minaj for going below the belt in her lyrics, adding that although he understands hip-hop’s competitiveness, he didn’t agree with Minaj talking about Megan’s mother from “a human perspective.”
Joe Budden argued that Minaj is a better rapper than Megan after “Hiss” dropped
Joe Budden also discussed Minaj and Megan’s ongoing feud on his eponymous podcast on last Saturday’s episode. Although Budden didn’t react to “Big Foot” since it didn’t hit streaming sites until midnight on Monday, he shared his thoughts on “Hiss” and appeared to lean toward Minaj.
“I don’t think Megan thee Stallion is in the same breath as Nicki Minaj,” Budden said.
When asked to clarify which categories, he responded: “In terms of nothing.”
Budden added that although he liked Megan’s record, he preferred Minaj’s potential take. He cited Minaj’s craftsmanship and touted her experience in the industry as evidence.
“Nicki is in the booth practicing cadence as we speak,” Budden continued. “And if you can’t just fill in the blanks on what she’s in there saying? Oh my God! Oh, it’s going to be great.”
Budden added that Megan doesn’t release singles quickly enough, in his opinion, to compete in this type of “warfare.”
Elliot Wilson, the founder of Rap Radar, gave the win to Megan
Hip-hop journalist Elliot Wilson shared his opinion on whether “Hiss” or “Big Foot” came out on top. X account Hip Hop Daily asked users to share which artists had the better song.
“Meg,” Wilson wrote.
Neither Minaj nor Megan wins this battle. We do.
Both rappers have been trending on X and TikTok since this beef started. The Hotties and Barbs are trading blows even right now on social media, continuing to debate which rapper won this round.
Still, both sides are wrong. The actual winners are us. Hear me out.
While Rihanna’s Navy is perpetually parched for her next album, the Hotties and the Barbs can walk away from last weekend with new music from their favorite artists.
The support is palpable, with “Hiss” snagging the No. 1 spot on Apple iTunes on Monday with “Big Foot” right behind it.
Fans are witnessing good old-fashioned hip-hop beef. As sticky as these public quarrels can be, it’s undeniably embedded in the culture and has brought fans some of the most exciting moments in music, including the iconic 2015 dispute between Drake and Meek Mill that also involved Minaj.
It’s also noteworthy because, these days, so much of the back-and-forth between rappers happens on social media instead of in the studio. Although it took Minaj a few days to respond with “Big Foot,” it’s reminiscent of when rappers went bar-for-bar instead of tweet-for-tweet.
Who knows if Megan will ever respond or if Minaj will log out of X at some point, but one thing is for certain: as fans, we’ll come out on top.
