Big Foot (Nicki Minaj song)

"Big Foot"
Single by Nicki Minaj
ReleasedJanuary 29, 2024
Recorded2024
GenreHip hop
Length4:22
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Nicki Minaj singles chronology
"FTCU"
(2024) 		"Big Foot"
(2024)

"Big Foot" is a song by rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on January 29, 2024, through Republic Records.[1][2] The song is a "diss track" in response to Megan Thee Stallion's single "Hiss" released three days prior, which contained a lyric that Minaj had interpreted to be directed at her husband Kenneth Petty—who is a registered sex offender.[3][4] The title is a mockery of the 2020 shooting in which Megan Thee Stallion was shot in the foot by Canadian rapper Tory Lanez.

Background and release

Although having collaborated on the 2019 single "Hot Girl Summer", Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion's relationship grew cold after Megan, on her 2020 single "WAP", collaborated with American rapper Cardi B, with whom Minaj has a rivalry. In the following years, Minaj continued to throw subliminal shots Megan's way.[5] One of those included a line in Minaj's 2023 single "Red Ruby da Sleeze": "I don't fuck with horses since Christopher Reeves", referencing the "Stallion" in Megan's stage name.[6]

On January 26, 2024, Megan released the single "Hiss", in which she rapped, "These hoes don't be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan's Law", a reference to the law requiring registered sex offenders to provide their personal information to local law enforcement agencies.[7][8] Nicki Minaj interpreted the line to be directed at her and her husband, registered sex offender Kenneth Petty. Following the release of "Hiss", Minaj took to Instagram Live to preview her own song, a diss track directed towards Megan, rapping "Bad bitch, she like 6 foot, I call her Bigfoot, the bitch fell off, I said get up on your good foot," referencing the 2020 shooting of Megan by Tory Lanez.[9][10]

In the days following the song's release, Minaj continued to talk about Megan on Instagram Live and Twitter, making fun of her shooting by Lanez, mocking her rap flow, and accusing her of being a "pathological and manipulative liar" and a "flop". Minaj further addressed Megan with the words, "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", referencing Megan's mother, who died of brain cancer in March 2019. On Twitter, she continued to tease the lyrics to her diss track, sharing the lyrics "Megan's Law. For a free beat you could hit #MeganRAW".[11][12][13]

Minaj officially announced the track "Big Foot" on Twitter with a release date of January 28 at 6 PM Eastern Standard Time.[14] In the announcement post, she included both a picture of the single cover and of Megan Thee Stallion. However, Minaj then claimed the song is not a diss track.[15] She suggested that Megan tried to prevent the track from coming out despite the fact she hasn't "even heard the song". Minaj tweeted, "It's been [ready] for 2 days. Just was tryna be cool & let her get lil streams. Wasn't gon say anything. But remember how everyone kept my name in their mouth and how I said the next person mention my family gon regret it. Btw, they haven't even heard the song. Who said it's even a 'diss'?"[16] Minaj announced that the song was delayed further for another six hours, before it was finally released on January 29 at midnight.[17][18]

Composition

In the song, apart from previously teased in a tweet "Get up on your good foot" lyric, Minaj goes on to claim Megan lied about getting shot, alludes to Megan's late mother, and insults Megan's rap flow. The song ends with a minute-long spoken word section in which Minaj warns that she has "a lot of tea" and a "second installment" still to come.[6]

Reception

"Big Foot" received an overwhelmingly negative reception from critics and fans, who criticized the production, the rap flow, and the shots at Megan for being lacking in quality.[6][19][20][21][22][23] Robin Murray of Clash deemed the song a miss and a bore, writing that it "revels in the obvious, doesn't reveal anything new, and rejoices in cheap shots".[24] Writing for Rolling Stone, Larisha Paul described the song as a regurgitation of previous posts and criticized it for featuring "chaotic Dr. Seuss-meets-Disney Villain lyrics and rhyme schemes in place of the on-record charisma she was once known for."[25] Peter Barry of Complex similarly found the song to be "lazily constructed" with rap verses that were "bland and tonally casual couplets" with "outdated punchline structures and generic talking points", and disapproved of Minaj stopping rapping midway through the song for a "muttered rant."[22] HuffPost's Taiyler Mitchell declared the song a miss and decried Minaj for slut-shaming Megan on it, especially when both artists have proudly rapped about having sex.[23]

Commercial performance

Upon release, "Big Foot" broke first-day records for the highest solo female rap debut in Apple Music history and the biggest solo female rap debut on YouTube in 2024.[26][27] Several days after its release, the song trailed "Hiss" in most real-time metrics, placing in second place on Apple Music's daily US streaming charts and about twenty spots lower on Spotify's charts, while on the iTunes chart it placed at number four with multiple other versions throughout the top 25.[28] Minaj and American right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro lended praise to one another as the latter's collaboration with Canadian rapper Tom MacDonald, "Facts", competed with "Big Foot" on the iTunes charts.[29]

Track listing

  • Streaming/digital download[30]
  1. "Big Foot" – 4:22
  2. "Big Foot" (a capella) – 4:22
  • Digital download – rap version[31]
  1. "Big Foot" (rap version) – 2:30
  2. "Big Foot" (rap version; a capella) – 2:30

Charts

Chart performance for "Big Foot"
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Netherlands (Tipparade)[32] 19
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[33] 11
UK Singles (OCC)[34] 56
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[35] 24

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Big Foot"
Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
Various January 29, 2024
  • Original
  • a capella
[30]
January 30, 2024 Digital download
  • Rap version
  • rap version a capella
 [31]

References

  1. ^ Rigotti, Alex (January 28, 2024). "Nicki Minaj announces new song 'Bigfoot'". NME.
  2. ^ "Nicki Minaj Pushes Her Anticipated Track "Bigfoot" Back Six Hours".
  3. ^ Callas, Brad. "Nicki Minaj Claims Megan Thee Stallion Told Her Team Not to Approve Beat for "Big Foot" Track: 'She Don't Want That Song Out'". Complex.
  4. ^ "Nicki Minaj rips into Megan Thee Stallion in new diss track amid feud". The News International. January 29, 2024.
  5. ^ Saponara, Michael (January 26, 2024). "Here Are the 5 People Fans Think Megan Thee Stallion Is Dissing on 'Hiss'". Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Mendez II, Moises (January 29, 2024). "The Backstory Behind 'Bigfoot', Nicki Minaj's Megan Thee Stallion Diss Track". Time. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  7. ^ Love, Tirhakah (January 26, 2024). "Everyone Megan Thee Stallion Gave Their 24 Hours of Attention". Vulture.
  8. ^ "So, Megan Thee Stallion's New Single 'Hiss' Is a Nicki Minaj Diss???". Jezebel. January 26, 2024.
  9. ^ Craighead, Olivia (January 26, 2024). "Untangling the Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj Beef". The Cut. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  10. ^ Stahl, Jay (January 26, 2024). "Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj feud escalates with 'get up on your good foot' lyric". USA Today. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  11. ^ Mier, Tomás (January 26, 2024). "Nicki Minaj Is Hella Pressed Over Megan Thee Stallion's Apparent 'Hiss' Diss". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  12. ^ Peters, Mitchell (January 27, 2024). "Nicki Minaj Fires Back at Megan Thee Stallion After Apparent Diss on New Song 'Hiss'". Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  13. ^ "Nicki Minaj addresses speculation surrounding her new song 'Bigfoot' being a diss track". The Times of India. January 29, 2024.
  14. ^ Peters, Mitchell (January 28, 2024). "Nicki Minaj Announces New Song 'Bigfoot' Admid Feud With Megan Thee Stallion". Billboard.
  15. ^ Rutter, Harry (January 28, 2024). "Nicki Minaj says new Big Foot song isn't diss track against Megan Thee Stallion". The Mirror.
  16. ^ "Nicki Minaj Claims Megan Thee Stallion Told Her Team Not to Approve Beat for "Big Foot" Track: 'She Don't Want That Song Out'". Complex. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  17. ^ David, Ahmad. "Nicki Minaj Pushes Her Anticipated Track "Bigfoot" Back Six Hours". Rap-Up. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  18. ^ Legaspi, Althea (January 29, 2024). "Nicki Minaj Drops Megan Thee Stallion Diss Track 'Big Foot'". Rolling Stone.
  19. ^ Ahlgrim, Callie (January 29, 2024). "Nicki Minaj fans say they're losing respect for the rapper amid her 'embarrassing' attacks on Megan Thee Stallion". Business Insider.
  20. ^ Goffe, Nadira (January 29, 2024). "The Nicki Minaj vs. Megan Thee Stallion Feud Has Reached a New Low". Slate.
  21. ^ Cunningham, Kyndall (February 1, 2024). "Why are Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj fighting?". Vox.
  22. ^ a b Barry, Mitch (January 30, 2024). "How "Big Foot" Makes Being A Nicki Minaj Fan Harder Than Ever". Complex.
  23. ^ a b Mitchell, Taiyler (January 31, 2024). "Nicki Minaj's Response To Megan Thee Stallion's 'Hiss' Was A Miss". HuffPost.
  24. ^ Murray, Robin (29 January 2024). "Review: Nicki Minaj – 'Big Foot'; Void Of Context, It's A Bore". Clash.
  25. ^ Paul, Larisha (January 31, 2024). "Nicki Minaj Isn't Afraid of Setting Fires — But Her Legacy Might Get Scorched, Too". Rolling Stone.
  26. ^ Nevares, Gabriel Bras (January 30, 2024). "Nicki Minaj Nabs Another Record-Breaking Achievement With "Big Foot"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  27. ^ Blake, Cole (January 30, 2024). "Nicki Minaj Brags About "Big Foot" Numbers, Calls Out Megan "Thee Machine"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  28. ^ Andrew, Untenberger (January 31, 2024). "Next Week's Hot 100: Megan Thee Stallion vs. Nicki Minaj vs… Ben Shapiro?". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  29. ^ https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2024/02/01/nicki-minaj-and-ben-shapiro-form-unlikely-alliance-as-big-foot-and-facts-look-for-billboard-chart-debuts/?sh=1fa24ef97c6e
  30. ^ a b "Big Foot - Single by Nicki Minaj". Apple Music. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  31. ^ a b "Big Foot (RAP version) - Single by Nicki Minaj". Apple Music. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  32. ^ "Tipparade-lijst van week 5, 2024" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  33. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  34. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  35. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2024.