Is the New Megan Thee Stallion Album Actually “Good News”?

Megan Thee Stallion’s highly anticipated debut album ‘Good News’ is finally here. The album follows her March release, “SUGA”, and dropped on the midnight of 20^th Nov, after much anticipation. But alas, it may not be the good news we were expecting. 

The 17-track album features guest spots from the A-listers in the game including  Lil Durk, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, City Girls, SZA, DaBaby, and her H-town sister, Queen Bey. The album spins around its previous singles, ‘Savage (Remix),’ ‘Girls in the Hood,’ and her most recently released single ‘Don’t Stop,’ featuring Young Thug. Further, the release was accompanied by a new music video for the track, ‘BODY’. And, this one is sure to flood the TikTok channels right about now.

A Catalogue Left Dry

Kicking things off on “Good News” is the track, ‘Shots Fired’. The old-school hip-hop track puts Tory Lanez (who is facing charges for shooting her with a concealed weapon) on the spot. The lyrics “Imagine n—– lyin’ about shootin’ a real bitch (Huh) / Just to save face for rapper n— you chill with / Imagine me givin’ a fuck it was your fuckin’ birthday / You in your feelings, I just thought it was another Thursday,” shred Lanez to bits. And, while she takes control of the narrative, it doesn’t sound so easy on the ears (sorry, Megan).

As the album progresses, Megan shares every vivid detail from her personal life in her sparse, old school songs. Her sexually charged lyrics encompass women expressing sexual desires; she says men are insufficient. “Why you askin’ if I like it when you know that you don’t hear me?/All them big-mouth boys never last in it,” she complains on ‘Work That’. 

Inspired by happenings in her life, the ‘WAP’ rapper is bold in her debut album. And, though the lyrics are a hit, the repetitive production is a miss. Overall, one can definitely feel the music taking a backseat on “Good News”. The two tracks preceding the last three singles leave something to be desired. Fortunately, the last three songs – ‘Girls in the Hood’, ‘Savage (Remix)’, and ‘Don’t Stop’ strike a balance helping maintain the “good” on this album.

Is It All Good?

Owing to its star-studded collaborations, “Good News” has something for everyone; even if that something is just a verse by your favourite artist.

Megan kicked off the year with a Normani collaboration in January with ‘Diamonds’ for Harley Quinn in “Birds Of Prey”. Then, she blessed fans with ‘WAP’ earlier this year, which arrived as the biggest streaming debut week of all time. There’s no doubt Megan Thee Stallion has what it takes to be top-selling rap star; she’s delivered in that vein before. But, “Good News” doesn’t hit the spots we hoped for.

By: Smriti Shivakumar