The Pop Corporation

We’ve all felt that unswerving love for an artist that makes us want to leap to their defence at the mere mention of their name, because you’re bored of everyone slagging them off. Hashing it out down the pub is one of music’s great theatrical events, but thanks to terminally online culture, lines can be easily crossed.

When rap beef occurs, it can be scintillating viewing, and now, there’s a unique moment between Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj.

It seems Nicki Minaj has taken umbrage with a line in Megan’s ‘Hiss’ track, which basically mentions ‘Megan’s Law’. Now, the line is served after a line about R Kelly, so you could easily imagine she’s serving venom at those who stood by Kelly after his vile personal life came to light and made him a criminal. However, Minaj has seen it at a slight against her, given the status of her husband, even though her name hasn’t been mentioned once.

Minaj has responded with a diss track called ‘Bigfoot’, which has the usual shots of ghostwriting, loose morals and all that stuff. We’re not here to burrow down into which beef track is best, if Megan’s initial track is a diss track in the first place, or any of that stuff, because frankly, this is not a vintage battle. It’s hardly 2pac spitting “I fucked yo’ bitch, you fat motherfucker“, right? Either way, the feud is ramping up and Nicki Minaj’s fans have seen it as a call to arms.

The mere mention of them strikes hesitancy into the hearts of anyone writing about them, for fear of reprisals on any perceived foe. We don’t have a dog in this fight, but we do know that not foes are made equal, and there are lines that really shouldn’t be crossed even in jest, if they are indeed in jest. Who can say?

RadarOnline.com have been doing their own digging, and reported that Minaj’s fans have doxxed the location of where Megan’s late mother has been buried, after a battle with brain cancer. Of course, it was Minaj who brought Megan’s mother into the equation in the first place, stating in a live video that she should “conjure up her mother and apologise”.

We all know that, when it comes to diss tracks, nothing is off-limits no matter if they give you the ick. Pusha T revealed Drake’s secret son in ‘The Story of Adidon’, which drew gasps and weird appreciation, but when Push turned his attention to 40’s multiple sclerosis, it felt too far. Such is life in the trenches of a genuine beef.

However, what makes the Stallion/Minaj beef to troubling is how there’s a lot of people catching stray bullets, and one young person – a TikTok user by the name of Bela Delgado who is autistic – has said that Minaj’s fans have doxxed him, pleading with Barbz to leave him alone. He said that fans were “messaging family members as well as people who aren’t members of my family, sending them shit — apparently they got somebody’s address.”

“I am sorry. I’m so sorry that I disrespected Nicki Minaj. I saw a lot of other people doing it; I thought I’d add my two cents” adding “sometimes things come out a lot harsher” than intended, thanks to being on the spectrum.

But they’re fans right? They don’t have the platform and don’t have to necessarily think about the repercussions as it’s all just internet contact sport, right? Well, it obviously isn’t helped when the person with the platform amplifies the message and actively encourages it.

It’s all a bit troubling. It’s all worrisome. For sure, rap beefs can be great fun and indeed, sparring stans going at each other can make for a bizarre and fantastic spectacle online – however, if you are a typical music nut who can withstand a bit of criticism about your favourite artist, the behaviour that unfurls can seem utterly baffling. It can worry you too. Maybe we’re just not into the confrontational aspect of some fandom? It’s obvious that we’re more about sitting quietly next to a record player and geeking out about the things we love.

We’re not even here to police the way anyone enjoys an artist, or the way they support them. Maybe, when start looking for people’s personal details, it might be a time to take a step back and consider what’s actually happening. Flooding someone’s replies with what you think is the correct take is one thing – but the second you begin to involve anyone not involved with the melee is just… well… isn’t that snitch behaviour? Like someone telling your mum you’ve been doing death threats on Twitter, or someone telling your boss at work that you’re trying to organise the defacement of someone’s grave?

Play hard, sure – but at least play fair.