What Happened Between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion? The Rappers' Feud and Its Memes Explained

Rapper confrontations, often called "feuds," are born from a variety of causes: failed relationships, gossip, jealousy, betrayal, alliances and honor. Some feuds are insignificant and often never blow up outside their inner circle, some are deeply personal and expand beyond the artist's control, dividing the internet and turning fandoms against each other in an online memetic war.

We have notable rapper feud examples predating the internet era like Tupac Shakur vs. The Notorious B.I.G. in the 90s, which is considered the "standard-bearer for every hip-hop conflict since," according to Complex website. Back in those days, these confrontations usually took place at recording studios and on street corners.

Nowadays, however, a fragment of the feuds is spent at recording studios, where rappers think of clever verses and comebacks to stunt their rivals, and the rest of the confrontation is dedicated to fandoms and the artist's marketing team to engage in viral content on social media.

Let's take a look at the latest rapper confrontation going viral on the internet, the Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion Feud.

What Happened Between 'Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion'?

A lot of media outlets are trying to pinpoint the exact moment in which Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion's feud started. The Sun tabloid alleges the beef is said to have started in two instances.

The first is Megan's rumored reaction to learning about Minaj's pregnancy, which people speculate she was the individual who Nicki Minaj said encouraged her to get an abortion and drink while pregnant. The second instance was the release of the music WAP, a collaboration between Stallion and longtime Minaj rival Cardi B.

The first alleged mention of their confrontation started in 2023 when Nicki Minaj referred to horses (or stallions) in the first verse (shown below) of her song "Red Ruby Da Sleeze."

700 on the horses, when we fixin' to leave
But I don't f*ck with horses, since Christopher Reeves
(Uh-oh, uh-oh)
Gotta be careful when I dip, it's flips all in the whips
It's 40s with 30 clips, FN's with the switch
Guacamole with the taco, waitin' on El Chapo
Came in the Rolls and left low in a Tahoe

Why Did Nicki and Megan diss each other?

On January 26th, 2024, Megan Thee Stallion released the song "Hiss" on all streaming platforms, which was the catalyst for the ongoing feud between the rappers. One particular lyric in the music got online attention for mentioning "Megan's Law", which is a U.S. federal law that requires all states to establish sex offender registries and community notification.

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

The thing is, Nicki fans immediately linked the "Megan's Law" line with her husband Kenny Petty, who is a registered sex offender after pleading guilty in 1995 to the attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl. Petty was also sentenced to three years probation and one year of home detention for failing to register as a sex offender in California in July 2022.

How Did Nicki Minaj Respond To The Diss 'Hiss'?

Not even an hour after Megan's diss track was released on streaming platforms, Nicki Minaj went Live on her Instagram account, where she appeared to address Megan's lyrics with a rap of her own. X user @PopBase posted a screen recording of the livestream (shown below) in which the rapper says, "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."

Megan's fans believe the lyrics mention the Megan Thee Stallion shooting, which references the incident where rapper Tory Lanez shot her in the foot in July 2020.

Minaj started liking, retweeting, replying to a series of posts mentioning the feud and, on January 28th, 2024, she posted a cover art on X paired with a picture of Megan Thee Stallion (shown below) to promote her new song "Big Foot," which will feature Nicki, shared on the Instagram livestream.

The "Big Foot" music (shown below) was officially released on January 29th, 2024, becoming a trending topic on social media and amassing over 800,000 views in a few hours after its premiere on YouTube. (shown below)

How Did Megan Thee Stallion Respond To The Diss 'Big Foot'?

Although not calling Nicki's name or their feud officially, Megan was asked by The Breakfast Club radio show host Charlamagne to share details about her diss track. When asked if the song was about a specific person, Megan summed up her position by saying, "A hit dog will holler." (shown below)

What Memes Were Posted About The Rapper's Feud?

Fandom war content where Nicki and Megan's fans posted jokes, memes, video parodies and other memetic formats dominated X and TikTok since Stallion's "Hiss" track was released. For example, TikTok user @farodbb posted a video on January 27th, 2024, in which he made a POV video (shown below, left) of the fight between the rappers. On the same day, TikTok user @alissaurus_rex posted a video of her reaction to the "Megan's Law" line in the "Hiss" music (shown below, right).

For the full history of the Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion feud, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.