The Beef Business: Nicki Minaj & Megan Thee Stallion's Feud Has Been a Money-Maker

“Rap beef is so washed up and tired. Exhausting. Uncomfortable. Exactly the stubbornness above all like f…”.

Rapper Coi Leray made this statement in one since deleted tweet on January 26. He was responding to an Eminem verse on a new Lyrical Lemonade song titled “Doomsday Pt. 2,” but the spat — and Leray's suggestion that the beef was a waste of energy — were quickly forgotten.

That's because, on the same day, Megan Thee Stallion released “Hiss,” a withering track that spews vitriol at blogs, exes, scumbags, copycats, “Z-list hoes” and more. Nicki Minaj isn't named in the song, but she was offended and spent the next few days letting people know in interviews and on social media. He also attacked Megan Thee Stallion in a venomous new song called “Big Foot.”

All of this bodes well for the commercial reception of “Hiss,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, well ahead of Megan Thee Stallion's latest single, “Cobra” (No. 32). On-demand audio streams of “Cobra” started at about 1.7 million on the day of release and then plateaued at about 1.1 to 1.2 million, according to Luminate. “Hiss” started higher — earning 3.2 million on-demand audio streams on opening day — and then began a similar slide, falling to 2.3 million streams by Sunday, a roughly 27 percent drop. However, when Minaj released “Big Foot” at midnight Sunday, streams of “Hiss” rebounded — hitting 3.8 million on Monday, a jump of more than 60 percent — and stayed strong for the rest of the week.

All of these are worth real money. Advertising sign estimates that “Hiss” earned about $121,000 in royalties from those on-demand audio streams — about $33,000 of which came from that “Big Foot.” (Megan Thee Stallion recently signed a distribution deal with Warner Music Group.) “Big Foot,” meanwhile, has earned more than $44,000 in recorded music royalties from its audio streams, Billboard estimates. (These figures do not take into account other sources of traffic or sales, which were particularly important to Megan Thee Stallion.)

In an industry where the competition for attention is fiercer than ever, the combination of controversy and celebrity remains the closest thing to a surefire winner. “When you're in a very crowded market with as many songs coming out every day on streaming services, you have to find an angle to cut through the noise,” he says. Eddie Blackmon, a longtime A&R. “Obviously that reduces the noise.”

“Beef always helps the music, because it just brings attention,” adds another rap executive who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “In the world of clickbait that we're in, that makes the front page, that's what people are talking about, that turns on the barbershops. People react to negativity more than positivity.”

Megan Thee Stallion has already proven adept at using celebrity and controversy to drive headlines and streaming, of course. When “WAP” featuring Cardi B was released in 2020, conservatives objected to the sexually explicit lyrics, turning the single into a cultural flashpoint — and a No. 1 hit. (When the two rappers released “Bongos” in 2023 , failed to excite right-wing commentators, debuted at No. 14 and quickly faded.) Lil Nas X accomplished a similar feat with “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” transforming conservative outrage over the track's video in a tailwind that took him to No. 1;

These days, culture war controversy can be the most effective rocket fuel for strikes. For two other examples that helped them earn No. 1 in 2023, check out Oliver Anthony Music's “Rich Men North of Richmond” and Jason Aldean's “Try That in a Small Town.”

Hip-hop feuds are another type of feud with their own long history, fodder for many a list on the Internet: MC Shan vs. KRS-One. Lil' Kim vs. Foxy Brown? Jay-Z vs. Nas? 50 Cent Rule vs. Ja. Meek Mill vs. Drake. Minaj vs. Remy Ma, and much, much, much more.

Sha Money XL he produced 50 Cent's “Wanksta,” a tasty Ja Rule diss that came out in 2002. “That was the first 50s record,” says Sha Money XL. “The DJs went crazy for him.”

A feud between artists is “definitely going to get your attention,” adds the producer and longtime record executive. “The bad thing is that there can be fights, shootings, that come with it.”

Listeners love to engage in abstract debates – which rapper is more talented or more sold out – especially in an age where armies of zealous fans are fighting for supremacy online, but there can be dangerous consequences in the real world. “With beefs there can be a bravado there; guys want to hurt each other or defend their egos,” he says Ray Danielsveteran hip-hop executive and host The GAUDS show.

In the case of Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj, Daniels continues, “nobody's saying, 'gear up and get insurance.'” So, to me, it's great that they're using their platforms to shine a light on each other, whether that it's good light or bad light. Both songs are streaming, apparently it works.” (Though while “Hiss” streams rebounded and remained high, “Big Foot” had a big debut — 4.1 million on-demand audio streams — then fell off quickly, recording 1.1 million streams on its final day track week, according to Fotina.)

If sales can be a side effect of some injustices, they can also be the main event, the whole point of the fracas. 50 Cent and Kanye West argued over who would sell more units in 2007, as did Minaj and Travis Scott in 2018. (At the time, Minaj mocked Scott as “that Auto-Tune man who comes here and sells f—ing sweaters.”)

Sales controversies also help boost sales, of course—it's no coincidence that West Graduation earned the longest opening week of his career at the time. “Some hip-hop skeptics believe that most of these controversies are just cheap marketing ploys meant to help sell records.” The New York Times noted at that time. “This feud was clearly a marketing ploy, with record sales not the hidden agenda but the main point.”

“We know there's real beef and then there's industrial beef,” acknowledges Blackmon, who began his career working at West's GOOD Music label. “But it all helps build awareness of the songs that are out there. It's all marketing at the end of the day. If he takes his own life, the companies and teams around him figure out how to light the flame.”

This fanning process can happen faster in the age of social media. “Social media makes small things bigger, magnifies tension and opinions,” notes Sha Money XL.

Many of the prominent music and culture-focused accounts on X, Instagram, and TikTok are business, meaning they accept money for posts. “People are spending tens of thousands of dollars on Instagram accounts, blogs and X culture,” says a digital marketer who doesn't work with either Megan Thee Stallion or Minaj. “Narrative-driven campaigns are everything. You make the Internet see the parts of the story you want them to see. If you wanted to hurt somebody, for example, you roll out the low numbers from the first week [when they release an album]knowing that everyone will just bake them.”

“Black Twitter has had a field day right now with this whole feud” between Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion, the digital marketer adds. His advice: “Keep feeding it.”

“You want to keep the conversation going,” agrees a second digital marketer who is not involved with either rapper. If a competition develops, he continues, groups of artists can go to culture-focused accounts and pay $50 or $100 for posts that ask something as simple as, “who's harder?” “It's much easier to push a narrative on X, especially if you're a big artist,” says the digital marketer. “You'll get impressions using just the name.”

Both Megan Thee Stallion and Minaj are showing very well that their clash has the potential to generate clicks. Even when Minaj insults Megan Thee Stallion on “Big Foot,” she claims she's doing her rival a favor: “It's the most attention you've ever gotten.” Meanwhile, “Hiss” targets anyone “using my name for likes.” “All that free promo,” Megan raps. “Earn”.