Nicki Minaj’s diss response to ‘HISS’ explained

It seems that Nicki Minaj is not a fan of anyone stealing her thunder. As soon as a new rapper appears on the scene, the self-entitled Queen of Rap continuously reminds the universe that she ought never to be forgotten — even if that entails beefing with someone half her age.

Minaj’s feuds with practically everyone come like clockwork. Once a new female rapper starts carving her path in the music industry, you can expect Minaj to reappear, ready to unleash her fangs, her stans, and what seems to be a hefty dose of internalized misogyny. Age, however, does not appear to be a concern for Minaj when choosing her next opponent — the fact that Minaj is 41 and Megan Thee Stallion is 28 probably didn’t even cross her mind.

By now, everyone and their mothers are well acquainted with this ongoing feud, but Minaj recently released a “non-diss” track in response to Stallion’s own diss (if you can even call it that). So, let’s review everything that has happened.

What happened between Nicki Minaj and Meghan Thee Stallion?

For the past few days, our Twitter timelines have been inundated with Nicki Minaj’s one-sided beef with Stallion. While it may have initially unfolded privately, fans occasionally catch a glimpse of this entire debacle on social media, and on January 26, the feud was reignited with Stallion’s single release, “HISS.”

In this song, the rapper’s lyrics can be interpreted easily to apply to various musicians in the industry, including Drake and, of course, Minaj. Although the song doesn’t explicitly mention any names, Stallion mentions “Megan’s Law,” referring to the federal law in the United States requiring authorities to release information about sexual offenders to the public.

While the 28-year-old rapper did not explicitly name anyone, Minaj believed the shoe fit her husband, Kenneth Petty, sparking a full-blown Twitter war and eventually leading to the release of Minaj’s own response track, “Bigfoot.”

What did Nicki Minaj say about Megan Thee Stallion?

In her new track “Bigfoot,” Minaj does not explicitly admit that she is referring to Stallion, leaving only the name “Megan” in the lyrics open to interpretation. So, if we interpret that it is indeed Stallion she’s targeting, the 41-year-old rapper elaborates on her distaste for Megan’s… everything.

In the song itself, Minaj criticizes various aspects of Stallion’s life and actions. She casts aspersions on Megan’s flow while rapping, alludes to promiscuity involving Stallion’s late mother’s partner, and even circles back to Stallion’s lyrics about Megan’s law by cleverly rhyming it with “raw,” once again rehashing the belief that Stallion is using her body to get success.

“Your flow is such a bore”

“How you engage with your mother’s partner after her passing?”

“This little beggin’ wh**e talkin’ ’bout Megan’s law / For a free beat, you could hit Megan raw (Ooh)”

Perhaps the most nonsensical diss, however, was concerning the 2020 shooting that left Stallion hospitalized after being fired upon by Tory Lanez. Throughout the song, Minaj continuously accuses Megan of lying about this incident, despite frequently ridiculing Stallion for her wound on social media — it’s difficult to make sense of this, we know.

“F*** you get shot with no scar? (Brr)
This little piggy toxic, someone adopt it (Ah-ha)”

Aside from the diss track, Minaj also released three single covers. One features her infamous pink stilettos on top of a big footprint, another displays a gigantic ape-like figure — presumably Bigfoot — and the third one shows a large footprint in the middle of the city — all of which many believe were created using AI.