Review: "Good News" Album by Megan Thee Stallion
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We listened to Megan’s new album “Good News”, which was highly anticipated due to the diss track towards her ex best fiend Kelsey and Toronto artist Tory Lanez. Raunchy as ever, Meg tackled this track and the rest with ease. Not letting her pettiness get the best of her, Thee Stallion shifts her focus on other tracks to her classic brand of body positivity and female sexual empowerment a la Lizzo. There’s a pandemic going on, and unless you’re married or living with a partner, the body you’re getting closest to is most likely your own.
“Shots Fired” is unforgettable with a minimalist, old school inspired beat sampling “Shots Fired” by Notorious BIG. She savagely rips apart those from her team that betrayed her and the man in the industry that attacked her and tried to discredit her truth "You shot a 5'10" bitch, with a .22/Talkin' 'bout bones and tendons like them bullets weren't pellets.” It’s a narrative that we’re missed in a lot of ad-libs based rap from the last few years, and Megan does more than borrow this B.I.G beat - she makes it her own.
“Circles” speeds things up with a New Orleans bounce backbeat and flow that channels a female Drake as she airs all of her grievances. Again, she explores fake friends and disloyalty, something that a lot of people can relate to: “Bullet wounds, backstabs, mama died, still sad at war with myself, in my head, bitch, it's Baghdad (Yeah)/New nigga tryna come around and play clean (Hmm)/And my clothes fit tight, but my heart need a seamstress.”
“Cry Baby” turns a baby cry into an addictive sample that’s catchy as hell - it’s a bummer clubs re closed, because this track would be everywhere. As Da Baby lists off the names of his conquests, we get reminded of the bassy beat behind this duo’s last famous feature, “Cash Sh*t.” it’s clear that these two have chemistry and we’re on the edge of our seat waiting for a full collab. Some female rappers get overshadowed by their male features, but it seems like the competition just fuels Megan to be her baddest - especially when she’s trying to prove a point to Tory Lanez. As she chronicles her spicy bedroom romps, she reminds her lover (and female listeners) to speak their mind and prioritize their pleasure: “Don’t fuck me like that, fuck me like this!”
She swaps gender roles and champions equality in “Movie” featuring Lil Durk, where she reminds us “I'm a boss, I could buy the same thing my man bought.”
Then Meg switches things up with a melodic SZA chorus that croon us a romantic 90s melody while Megan gets naughty with jaw-droppers like “Freaky bitch, I do this, suck it like I'm toothless” as she retorts to the haters that say she’s “too tall” for a man: “Long legs, he intimidated, Amazon, I'm elevated/Lil' people make lil' people/stallions breed prize babies.”
Our favorite tracks are all hidden gems - they’re not the catchy singles off “Good News” that are sugary pop or radio friendly. They’re the ones that scream classic Meg: racy, ruthless and unapologetically loving herself, but most importantly: encouraging her fellow women to do the same.