How Did Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Hiss’ Become the Rare Rap Beef Song to Debut at No. 1?

Hip-hop history has been littered with world-stopping, game-changing diss tracks — but you wouldn’t find many, if any, at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Historically, most of the great feud-starting moments on wax have met with little chart success, often being deemed too raw for radio, if they were even released or promoted as official singles in the first place. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news That’s changed some in the streaming years, as fans have been able to bypass gatekeepers to stream and purchase the most conversation-dominating diss tracks to their hearts’ content. Still, Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hiss” — whose venomous (though unspecified) disses set off a social media frenzy, including responses from some of the presumed targets — certainly is in rare air as a beef cut with its debut atop the Hot 100 this week, making for the rapper’s third No. 1 and first since 2021. How was “Hiss” able to do it? And will it inspire other rappers to try something similar? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below. 1. “Hiss” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week — Megan Thee...