HISS

On the 26th January 2024, Megan Thee Stallion released her second single “HISS”, from her upcoming third album. The rap track is the second song to be released under Megan’s independent record label “Hot Girl Productions”.But its lyrics have sparked some outrage from Nicki Minaj… why?

Upon the release of “HISS”, Megan visited radio station “The Breakfast Club” to breakdown the track’s meaning, stating that it was aimed at anyone who uses her name to get attention online:

“When a snake feel like you’ve been playing and like doing a whole bunch of swaying, it’s basically telling you to back off. I hear you, I see you, get up off me now,” she said. “Basically, that’s what it means.”

In the song, Megan name checks Mariah Carey (referencing her hit 2009 song “Obsessed”), Kris Jenner (mother and manager of the Kardashian family), and R Kelly a rapper currently serving 31 years in prison for child pornography charges and enticing a minor. And of course, Tory Lanez, who was convicted in 2022 for shooting Megan in the foot in 2020.

But if Nicki Minaj wasn’t mentioned, why has she clapped back?

In the first verse, Megan states: “These h–s don’t be mad at Megan, these h–s mad at Megan’s Law”, a US law that requires police to share information with the public about convicted and registered sex offenders (named after Megan Kanka)... which Minaj seemed to think was pointed at her husband Kenneth Petty, who is a registered sex offender who served a total of four years in prison after he was convicted of attempted rape of a 16 year old in 1995, and was then put on probation in 2022 for failing to register as a sex offender in California.

Minaj then took to X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram live and called Megan a liar and a “disgusting serpent”. On Instagram Live, Minaj attempted to defend her husband, stating: “You bringing up 30-year-old tea from when this man was a 15-year-old child. You bringing up 30-year-old tea cause no man will ever f***ing love you, and lying on your dead mother.”

Nicki Minaj then dropped her own track titled “Big Foot”, making fun of Megan’s height and when she was shot in the foot by Tory Lanez:

“Bad b—h she like six foot, I call her Big Foot/ The bitch fell off, I said get up on your good foot”

Minaj also makes references to Megan’s deceased mother who sadly passed in 2019 due to brain cancer and Megan’s promiscuity and her being a “lil beggin’ wh*re talkin’ ‘bout Megan’s Law”. Minaj’s response has sparked outrage, many deeming the singer’s lyrics “too harsh” and stating that Minaj had gone too far.

It seems as if Minaj has simply taken to heart some of Megan’s lyrics despite them not being directed at her or her family: it’s important to note that Minaj’s brother Jelani Maraj also has a history with sexual assault: he is currently serving 25 to life for predatory sexual assault.

Whether not the lyrics were directed at Minaj’s partner, it seems as if a response like one from Minaj speaks volumes; as for over a decade Minaj has openly tore down other people who dare critique anyone close to her- she has even made her fans (the Barbz) go after ordinary people online whom have been critical of her. Some of these fans have even doxxed and harrassed these individuals.

To be so open about assault and your experiences is brave and for Megan to be so unabashedly casual about her lyrics should be seen as a win: no one who has committed a crime should be protected or treated differently simply due to their social standing.

The lyric video for “HISS” was released on the 26th January 2024.