Nicki Minaj (left) and Megan Thee Stallion (right) on the set of the “Hot Girl Summer” music video
Original photo: @theestallion on Instagram
Edited by the Xavierite
It doesn’t seem like two of rap’s biggest female artists will be having a “Hot Girl Summer” this year.
On Jan. 26, rapper Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, released her single, “Hiss,” in which she calls out her haters, suggesting that they are “snakes,” hence the title of the track. One of the people called out in the song is speculated to be legendary rap star Nicki Minaj.
Pete utters a line in one of the verses that fans believe to be about Minaj’s husband. “These h—— don’t be mad at Megan, these h—— mad at Megan’s Law,” Pete raps, referencing Megan’s Law, the federal law that requires law enforcement to make information regarding the sex offender registry accessible to the general public.
Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, was convicted of attempted rape in 1995 and served four years in prison in New York. According to an article published by Vulture Magazine, Petty failed to re-register himself in 2021, resulting in him receiving a fine of $55,000, being placed under house arrest, and sentenced to three years probation.
As a result, many have come to the conclusion that the lyric was a dig at the rapper’s husband, including Minaj herself.
On the same day of the release of “Hiss,” Minaj took to Instagram Live to condemn Pete for what she believed to be an attack on her husband.
In the same livestream, Minaj revealed that she had already created a counter-diss track to “Hiss,” titled “Big Foot.” The title of the track is meant to poke fun at Pete’s tall stature.
In the song, Minaj calls Pete out for a claim given by her ex-boyfriend, rapper Pardison Fontaine, that she would “lie on [her] dead mother,” even going as far as alleging that Pete lied about being shot.
In July of 2020, the rapper allegedly got into an argument with Tory Lanez inside of a vehicle shortly after leaving a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s Los Angeles mansion, after which Lanez reportedly shot Pete in the feet multiple times.
Surveillance footage from the night of the incident shows a seemingly frightened Pete limping out of a black SUV with her hands in the air, and what looks to be a trail of blood following her footsteps.
This vicious animosity has not always been present between Pete and Minaj, however.
In 2019, the ladies collaborated on a single titled “Hot Girl Summer” with singer Ty Dolla Sign, which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Fans began to speculate tension between the two stars in 2020, when Pete collaborated with fellow female rapper Cardi B on the hit song “WAP.” Cardi B and Nicki Minaj had a notorious falling out in 2018, shortly after collaborating on a track, “Motorsport,” with the rap trio, the Migos.
Tension furthered between the two women when fans on social media accused Pete of encouraging Minaj to consume alcoholic beverages in the midst of her trying to become pregnant.
Minaj told a story during an episode of her Queen Radio podcast in which an unnamed individual invited Minaj to drink with her. When Minaj declined on account of the fact that she was trying to conceive, the individual supposedly told her to “go to the clinic.”
Pete denied being the culprit of Minaj’s story publicly on Twitter.
Many also believe that a specific lyric in Nicki Minaj’s hit song, “FTCU,” from her newest album, “Pink Friday 2,” was yet another cheap shot at Pete’s alleged 2020 shooting incident.
“Stay in your Tory lane, b——, I’m not Iggy,” Minaj raps in “FTCU” in what seems to be a double entendre referring to Iggy Azalea’s support for Tory Lanez during his trial for the 2020 shooting.
I personally believe that the feud between these two talented, powerful artists started from baseless Internet rumors. However, I would assert that Minaj should’ve handled the situation in a more adult way. Minaj had no reason to become so defensive about the line about Megan’s Law in “Hiss,” nor is there any proof that the line is in reference to her husband.
I believe that if Megan Thee Stallion wanted to shade Minaj, she would’ve done so in a more direct manner, such as making a remark about Minaj rather than a family member of hers.
Pete has also remained completely silent on the issue, not addressing any of Minaj’s cruelty towards her. It is undeniable that Pete is handling the situation in a more reserved, dignified manner than Minaj.
Tension has grown so much between fans of both artists that some of those who have sided with Minaj have even gone as far as to reveal the location of Pete’s late mother’s gravesite on social media, resulting in the cemetery having to greatly increase security.
The drama that has erupted between Minaj and Pete, as well as their fans, is a perfect demonstration of the dangers of parasocial relationships between celebrities and their supporters. This is just one of many cases in which fans have sensationalized a feud between two celebrities, resulting in scary consequences for one or both parties involved.