Even legends that seem untouchable can fall from grace overnight.
On Jan. 26, rapper Megan Thee Stallion released the single “Hiss,” a relentless assertion against scrutiny from the public and other members of the music industry.
One such member addressed in the track was rapper and singer Nicki Minaj who has a history of conflict with Megan, once ridiculing her as an upcoming talent. Following the release of “Hiss,” Minaj performed a 72-hour-long public meltdown on social media over a particular verse implied to be about her.
The verse in question reads, “These hoes don’t be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan’s law,” referencing the law that requires sex offenders to be registered and made known to the public. Presumably, this is a callout to Minaj’s marriage to Kenneth Petty, a convicted sex offender whom Minaj has repeatedly defended.
In response, Minaj released a pitiful last-minute diss track titled “Bigfoot” in an attempt to clapback at Megan’s height, of all things.
The track is a dismal, career-threatening disaster. The fact that Minaj decided to even release such an embarrassing degradation of her legacy shows that she is fully convinced that her name and status will protect her from criticism.
It’s hard to even critique the track’s lifeless instrumental. The cheap-sounding drums are reminiscent of stale royalty-free instrumentals, ones that would have been available on Garageband eight years ago; they’re not something you expect the “queen of rap” to use.
Accompanying this stale instrumental is Minaj’s poorly mixed vocals, which are muddled and sometimes unintelligible over the badly mixed bass.
The unintelligible lyrics make no difference as the bars themselves are mostly regurgitations of tweets Minaj made over the weekend following the release of “Hiss.” The comebacks are never clever and are mostly childish insults addressing Megan’s height or her mother who recently passed away with lines like “lyin’ on your dead mama.”
After a gruelling three minutes of poorly mixed bars that would better be described as angry Twitter posts strung together, Minaj signs off in the last minute of the track whispering a warning to Megan and anyone that threatens her. The unedited, uncut recording is a rambling mess that tarnishes the ability to take her seriously at all.
Is someone who can only come up with blatant insults as comebacks really deserving of the title “queen of rap?”
No.
With this disastrous single, Minaj has single-handedly dethroned herself, smearing her image among the public and fans alike. As opposed to artists far into their careers like Beyoncé or Lady Gaga, who have worked to promote upcoming artists, Minaj sits atop her mountain of success, shoving a boot in the face of anyone whom she perceives as a threat to her status.
Her response to Megan is what happens when someone kicks too hard, losing their footing and falling fast, literally. “Bigfoot” plummeted a staggering 46 spots on the US Spotify charts on its third day of release.
Once the drama has subsided, Minaj’s low-effort attempt at a clapback will be steamrolled by Megan’s future releases and growing talent. Her presence on tracks and effortless ability to coast over any beat makes her one of the most exciting rappers to hit the mainstream and far more deserving of the title “queen of rap.”
With an upcoming tour for the release of her album Pink Friday 2, Minaj may continue to thrive in the eyes of her loyal fanbase, but her recent actions are a humiliating way of staining her legacy as an artist and cultural figure. Although she may continue to call herself “the queen of rap,” this recent stunt has made her crown begin to slip off.
