Good News - Megan Thee Stallion: Review
is a Houston based rapper who has had as consistent a viral presence across 2020 as just about anyone. It started off with her Tik Tok anthem Savage which eventually garnered a Beyonce featuring remix and had a Billboard #1 shootout with Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj. Musically she also lent a feature out to one of the most talked about songs of 2020 Cardi B's WAP. Not to mention she made headlines for months after allegedly being shot in the foot by Tory Lanez. She is following up last years Fever mixtape and this years Suga EP with her studio debut album Good News.
Review By Lav:
There are few voices in the modern hip hop game as hilarious, charming and overwhelming as Hot Girl Meg. From last years Hot Girl Summer becoming an anthem before it was even released to her near constant presence across every facet of the music industry and social media one thing is clear, nobody can get enough of Megan. I felt the same way despite coming off pretty mild on her EP earlier this year because of the more sing heavy R&B tracks. Her singles have been great all year and I had no reason to expect anything but more great tracks from her on Good News, but wow, was I very very wrong.
This record is 17 tracks long and the only sustained moment of good songs comes at the very end when the records three singles are tacked onto the end of the album after what's meant to be the closing track. It's pretty cheely to include the Savage remix on the record but it is a fantastic single with a marquee Beyonce feature regardless. Girls In The Hood is a charming and hilarious single that holds up perfectly on the record. It's a charming combination of golden era hip hop with a wild distorted beat and one of Megan's best performances to date. I also loved the Young Thug featuring BANGER Don't Stop which sees both artists going way harder than they needed to resulting in another standout single for Megan.
Even though I'm going to be pretty hard on this record even I can't deny that there are a few tracks here I really enjoyed. It all starts with Shots Fired which sees Megan addressing Tory and the shooting head on from the very first moments of the record. The song geniously samples Biggie's Who Shot Ya for a hard-hitting confrontation right out of the gate. Freaky Girls is a powerful combination of a Juicy J produced instrumental, SZA hook and two fiery Megan verses. The whole thing is a relentlessly charming, catchy and enjoyable tune that is a refreshing break after a particularly rough stretch on the album. Go Crazy is pretty much the only non-single here with decent guest verses. Big Sean is actually decent which served as a big surprise for me but the best parts of the song initially are the beat and Megan's verses. 2 Chainz shows up on the back end and delivers what may be the best verse on the entire album and wraps up one of the more complete songs here. Outside is the records actual closing track and it sees Megan getting personal over past relationships alongside a warmer beat than her usual sound. I think the song is actually a personal triumph for her that works really well as a closing track, and I kind of wish it was the ACTUAL closing track but whatever.
Before we get into the records worst tracks there are a few that just come off as generic Meg. Circles is a smooth and kind of catchy song with a rattling beat and soulful vocal samples. Megan performes it with her usual swagger but you couldn't pick it out of a line-up. Speaking of not being able to pick something out of a line-up What's New is a sexually charged banger which is clearly something that Meg does well. The song is fine while it's on but doesn't have nearly enough character to leave anything with me as a listener.
The rest of the record isn't just bad, its typically between unbearably generic and completely unlistenable. At the lighter end of this is Cry Baby which has a super generic blown out beat and an energetic DaBaby feature. Despite his energy he brings the exact same flow and performance style we hear from him on every song and I'm kind of over it. Megan feels like a decent feature on her own song and the result is just not worth it. Do It On The Tip sees Megan teaming up with City Girls for what should have been an ass shaking banger for the ages. Unfortunately the beat is absolutely bog standard, the hook is a total dud and to absolutely no surprise Yung Miami handles everybody else on the track. Given how short her appearance is however she doesn't do nearly enough to save the song. Movie has a decent beat and average performance from Megan but jesus christ I have never heard anyone who sounds as dead on a song as Lil Durk does on this track. Having reviewed Nav and Lil Xan records I was stunned by just how much Durk sapped all the energy out of the track every time his voice came in.
Sugar Baby has a beat I really enjoy but that's where the positives stop. Megan pens some questionable lyrics all over the track and repeatedly goes on really long series of completely unchanging flows that get pretty monotonous. Rock Me To Sleep is the kind of track I was afraid of being on the record and while yes it is bad, it isn't the worst thing the album throws at you. Megan getting in her feelings isn't something I'm against in principle but I have the same problem with this song that I had with similar tracks on her Suga EP. Megan's singing and songwriting both come up really short on the song and don't do the personal nature of the lyrics justice. I was surprised how few songs on the record actually took this approach but some work still needs to be done to make these tracks actually impactful. On most records Work That would easily be the worst hook of the bunch but here it only gets the bronze. It borrows from the Juvenile song Rodeo but does an absolutely terrible job of it. The verses are actually decent but the singing on the hook is just a total mess, I can't help but thing that a different take could have helped this track be at least a little bit better and the hook maybe even tolerable.
Body may be the most annoying song I have heard period in 2020 and it STILL doesn't have the worst hook on the record. The bombastic beat is terrible and the chorus is physically painful, its badly underwritten, badly performed and should have absolutely never left the studio. How this song got onto a major studio album in 2020 I have absolutely no idea. The worst feature, worst hook and generally worst song of the entire bunch is Intercourse, The track sees Megan trying her hand at doing a dancehall song and recruits Popcaan for what may be the worst performance I have ever heard him give in his entire career. After a minute and a half of him it is a major relief to hear Megan's voice but even that doesn't last once she starts singing, yeesh.
Good News has moments that see Megan shining and doing exactly what caused so many people to fall in love with her music over the last few years. Unfortunately she recruits an absolutely disastrous series of features that work to ruin a number of songs on the album while also failing to produce as many personality filled trap bangers as I expected. While I am far from giving up on Megan and I anticipate her releasing plenty more great singles in her career, Good News makes me very hesitant about what she may do in the future with her studio albums. 4.5/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
This cover is good but it's nothing amazing. I love the concept and always really like the overlapping text. The concept is solid using headlines of articles Megan has been in. Where I began to get lost is when she seems unimportant in this composition like her pose and placement is an afterthought. It's nit very well edited together and doesn't look like something that is the quality of someone that has her type of hype right now. It's barely successful and I think that the imagery was more of an afterthought by her team. 5/10
For more hip hop check out my review of Flo Milli's Ho, Why Is You Here? here
