It’s tough to be a Barb right now. Nicki Minaj fans, aka “the Barbies” or “the Barbz,” are tirelessly defending their Queen in every comment section as her new diss track on Megan Thee Stallion, “Big Foot,” is met with a lot of criticism and controversy.
Let’s rewind. Before all of this drama, Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion collaborated in August of 2019 on “Hot Girl Summer,” a track that ended up being Megan Thee Stallion’s first top 10 song on the Billboard Charts. Both of these prominent female artists have a similar unapologetic persona, which naturally led to some level of comparison; but the two teamed up instead, squashing any rumors of rivalry.
Now, let’s fast-forward. The beef began when Megan Thee Stallion released her newest track, “Hiss,” on Instagram Live, which included a bar about “Megan’s Law,” that supposedly took a dig at Minaj’s husband Kenny Petty, a registered sex offender. The song never explicitly mentioned any names, but Minaj definitely took it personally. The same night “Hiss” dropped, Minaj retaliated almost instantly by teasing “Big Foot,” a blatant diss track on Megan Thee Stallion that left no room for speculation.
Minaj’s bars cast doubt on Megan Thee Stallion’s incident with singer Tory Lanez, who was just sentenced to 10 years behind bars for shooting her in the foot in 2020. The song even went so far as to mention Megan Thee Stallion’s deceased mother. She has also been on a rampage on X, formerly known as Twitter, almost non-stop, giving the Barbz no time to breathe.
Meanwhile, Megan Thee Stallion clapped back to some of Minaj’s comments over Instagram Live while celebrating the success of “Hiss.” She danced and sipped Hennessy out of a straw, which is a direct reference to the “Big Foot” bar that goes, “Your flow is such a bore / Drinkin’ a bottle of Henny through a straw.” Megan Thee Stallion reminded her fans that, “We are #1” and to remain “kind” during all of this drama, in an attempt to take the higher road. Megan Thee Stallion also revealed over livestream that she paid for her last two singles, “Cobra” and “Hiss,” out of her own pocket because nobody wanted to work with her after the shooting incident.
Minaj called Megan Thee Stallion out as a liar on X, claiming that her label used YouTube bots, Twitter ads and paid for TikToks to promote the songs. At this point, it is unclear where the truth lies. Usually, Stan Twitter will live and die for Minaj, but this time her actions have many fans questioning if their Queen is in the right.
There is a lot to follow here, but the consensus is that “Big Foot” fell flat in more ways than one. The track demonstrates a quality of rapping that is not on par with the highly regarded Queen of Rap we all know and love. The entire song felt like an extension of her X rants put over a beat. Minaj attempted to justify her below-the-belt lyrics by saying that Megan Thee Stallion brought her family into this first, but it feels like Minaj has stooped to a level we’ve never seen her go before. Disses and rap beefs have always been an important part of hip-hop, but this seemed out of character and borderline bizarre. Many have observed that it seems like Minaj put no effort into delivering her disses, lacking the wit she is notorious for. This is largely disappointing for her fans and has left many Barbz wondering what their Queen’s next move will be.
It is rare that controversy brings people together, but there is a large consensus online that Minaj is the rapper in the wrong. Beef aside, what really matters are the numbers. “Hiss” remained higher on the charts than “Big Foot” throughout the whole scandal, naming Megan Thee Stallion victorious in that sense. Although “Big Foot” opened at No. 10 on the charts,, it didn’t resonate with Minaj’s fanbase in the same way her other music has. Minaj claimed she has a few other songs about Megan Thee Stallion ready to go, but many hope the feud stops here and that this is a blip we will all soon forget.
As a mega-Barb myself, this was hard to write, but it seems as if there may be an undercurrent of change in the female rap genre. I’m not saying that the Queen has been dethroned, but I am questioning the future of the title “Queen of Rap.” It would be a shame to see such petty drama tarnish a career that changed the game of rap forever. It is no secret that Minaj single-handedly paved the way for many of today’s female rappers, including Megan Thee Stallion, so it seems confusing as to why she is acting threatened by Megan Thee Stallion’s recent success. There is more than enough room for both of these rappers to coexist, and one does not have to stomp out the other to survive. It’s tiring to watch women in this industry constantly pitted against each other instead of enjoying their success.