Megan Thee Stallion has had to cope with a pandemic, a gunshot wound and the loss of her mother in the last year. Through some miracle, she managed to create some of her best tracks and expand her fanbase more than ever before.
On November 20, the 25-year-old rapper released “Good News,” a 17-song collection of upbeat tracks and Megan’s signature raunchy lyrical content. Despite her difficult year, the album is a celebration. She addresses her shooting quickly in the start, then quickly moves into party territory. Every track on this album is guaranteed playtime once bars open back up.
Megan begins the album with “Shots Fired,” a scathing, Biggie-inspired diss track addressed to her alleged shooter Tory Lanez. She pulls that same passion into “Circles” up next, a New Orleans bounce track that immediately became a personal favorite. Each of the tracks on the album references classic hip-hop and R&B, and her flow is so sharp and effortless you barely register the genius of the lyrics.
It’s obvious that Megan is starting to get her footing in the rap industry, and she’s using that success to experiment and collaborate. This album features a star-studded collection of features from Beyonce to Big Sean, and a whole new cast of producers like Tay Keith and Avedon.
For the most part, these experiments worked out. They kept the album from getting stale and showed that Megan can hold her own in a variety of styles. It did, however, fall flat on “Don’t Rock Me To Sleep,” an out-of-place synth-based track where Megan took the plunge into singing— kind of. It’s a weird, autotuned, monotone Dua Lipa moment. She throws this track into the last few spots on the album, otherwise filled with her already-famous hits. It’s like she’s trying to hide it, but the contrast makes it even more apparent.
Overall, it’s a great album that’s bound to spark a host of other dance trends, on TikTok or in the bars. Megan Thee Stallion is sharpening her flow and experimenting, and its doing her good— for the most part.