Biggie vs. Tupac. Drake vs. Pusha T. Eminem vs. Machine Gun Kelly. These are some of the most famous rap feuds ever — and it may be time to add Nicki Minaj vs. Megan Thee Stallion to the list.
The once-friendly, now-deadly duo amplified their feud in 2024 when Megan dropped “Hiss,” which many fans believe included a dig at Minaj and her husband, Kenneth Petty. Minaj subsequently raged against the alleged slight, venting her fury online before channeling her hatred into the track “Big Foot.”
Knowing how far Minaj is willing to take any rap beef, the odds of this feud getting squashed soon are slim to none. But how did Megan become the latest person to clash with Minaj? Keep scrolling for a look back at how this rivalry started:
2019: Megan and Nicki Team Up for ‘Hot Girl Summer’
Minaj and Megan began as friends and collaborators, teaming up on the latter’s hit “Hot Girl Summer” in 2019. The song and video helped solidify Megan as a rising star in the rap world, and she gave love to Minaj during an Instagram Live.
“Stop playing with Nicki Minaj like she ain’t the motherf–king GOAT,” said Megan with Minaj by her side. “Don’t ever ask me s–t: don’t ever question me. You know the f–king vibes, quit playing with us.”
2020: Megan Joins Cardi B for ‘WAP’
The common consensus is that Minaj and Megan fell out in 2020 when Minaj’s longtime rap rival Cardi B dropped “WAP.” The blockbuster hit prominently featured Megan, and while it elevated Megan’s standing in the music world, it may have downgraded her relationship with Minaj.
Cardi and Megan reunited three years later on “Bongos.” While it wasn’t as big of a cultural and commercial smash as “WAP,” the song was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
2022: Rumors Surface That Megan Encouraged Nicki to Have an Abortion
The cracks between Minaj and Megan deepened after a 2022 episode of Minaj’s “Queen Radio” show. “Imagine telling someone you didn’t want a drink because you were, at the time, possibly pregnant [or] because you were actively trying to have a baby,” Minaj said. “Imagine that person saying, ‘Oh, girl, you can go to the clinic.’”
Minaj didn’t mention Megan by name, but many Barbz assumed the person in question was her. When one fan told Megan that Minaj accused her “of encouraging abortion [and] child endangerment with alcohol,” Megan responded, “LIE.”
In 2024, Minaj’s fans, known as the Barbz, resurfaced a video of Minaj and Megan on the 2019 “Hot Girl Summer” music video shoot. In the clip, Megan made a slight joke that could have been a remark about handling an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy, but the words “abortion” and “clinic” were not spoken.
One fan claimed the video was proof of Megan “trying to encourage [Minaj] to drink” while pregnant. Minaj then reposted the video via her X account and called Megan “a disgusting serpent.” During her Instagram Live sessions after “Hiss,” Minaj revisited the subject, claiming Megan kept hounding her about drinking.
Minaj also claimed that this unnamed person was trying to use her for clout. “Imagine posting photos that you’re pregnant and the person doesn’t even ‘like’ it or say congratulations,” she said on the aforementioned “Queen Radio” episode. “But then, when you post that Beyoncé sent you flowers congratulating you, the person then tries to attempt to send you flowers thinking that, ‘Oh, I could use this opportunity as I use everyone else. She’ll post that I sent her flowers.’”
2023: Nicki Throws Subtle Shade at Megan in ‘Red Ruby Da Sleeze’
In 2023, Minaj dropped “Ruby Red da Sleeze,” which contained a line many listeners interpreted as being about Megan.
“Seven-hundred on ’em horses / When we fixin’ to leave / But I don’t f–k with horses / Since Christopher Reeves,” rapped Minaj. Many fans assumed the “horses” line was a reference to Megan’s stage name.
2024: Megan Hits Back With “Hiss”
Megan and Minaj’s feud turned explosive in 2024 with the release of “Hiss.” Megan’s second snake-themed single took shots at her rivals, from Drake to Tory Lanez to Nicki Minaj.
“These hoes don’t be mad at Megan / These hoes mad at Megan’s Law,” she rapped, referencing the 1994 federal law that makes information about registered sex offenders available to the public.
In 2019, Minaj married Petty, who was convicted of attempted rape in the first degree in 1995. He served four years in prison and is now a registered sex offender. In July 2022, Petty was sentenced to a year of home confinement for failing to register as a sex offender with the state of California after he and Minaj moved there in 2021.
In 2020, Minaj’s brother Jelani Maraj was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after he was convicted of predatory sexual assault against a child and endangering the welfare of a child.
Though Megan didn’t mention Minaj or Petty by name in “Hiss,” Minaj took the “Megan’s Law” line as a personal insult.
2024: Nicki Fires Back With “Big Foot”
Following the release of “Hiss,” Minaj went off via X, having what some onlookers described as a multi-day, spiraling “meltdown.” Shortly after the song hit streaming services, Minaj appeared on Instagram Live and trashed Megan as someone who can’t “rap on the beat.” She also teased a potential diss-track response to “Hiss.”
Seemingly in response to Minaj’s social media rants, Megan posted a photo of herself laughing via her Instagram Story.
Minaj continued slamming Megan days after the release of “Hiss,” calling Megan’s past albums “flops,” dismissing her as a “pathological [and] manipulative liar,” claiming Megan uses “ghostwriters” and saying Megan “[claims] she went to college but can’t read her [record] contract.”
Minaj also claimed that Megan hooked up with her late mother’s boyfriend. (Megan’s mom, Holly Thomas, died of brain cancer in 2019). “Y’all wanna bring up family members???!! And lying on your dead mother?!?!! Lied to Gayle [King]. Lied on & F–KED your best friend man?!!!!! Told me to drink & go to the clinic if I was pregnant. All b/c I wouldn’t let your funky butt pour liquor down my throat?” Minaj wrote. “B!ch think she a bully cuz she gets a Roc Nation brunch every year.”
This culminated with the release of “Big Foot” on January 29, three days after “Hiss” dropped. The song took everything Minaj wrote via X and distilled it into a freestyle rap. On the track, Minaj accused Megan of sleeping around, lying about getting liposuction and lying about getting shot by Lanez.
However, Minaj denied that “Big Foot” was a “diss track.” After @PopBase reposted the single’s art via X, Minaj replied, “Who tf said ‘diss track’?????? don’t play tonight. Fix your tweet.”
