After months of teasing with snake themed singles, Megan Thee Stallion has finally released her serpentine album, “MEGAN.”
“MEGAN” was a rap record with a snake motif that dealt with conflict, confidence, and vulnerability. It was her first project as an independent artist. It was preceded by three singles, “Cobra,” “Hiss,” and “BOA.” “Hiss” debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard Global Chart, marking it her first solo song to do so.
Highs
Conceptually, the album’s tracklist acted as a journey from external to internal conflict. Opening with “Hiss,” the song came out fighting, throwing shade at various people. The snake motif was apt as she is on the attack. But as the album went on, there were more moments of introspection, it ended with the songs “Moody Girl” and “Cobra” where Megan sang about being depressed.
The album was realistically empowering, listing reasons to be confident, but allowing time to be sad as well. “Worthy” was especially notable as an empowerment anthem, where Megan doesn’t need to settle for a partner who doesn’t treat her right, finding power in her independence.
The record is unabashedly geeky, including songs such as “Otaku Hot Girl” which is themed entirely around anime, “Down Stairs DJ” with the lyric “ready, player one, fight / Arcade mode 'til the batteries die” referencing video games, and “Paper Together” which mentions infinity stones. Essentially, Megan didn’t say that geeks can be hot, but that being a geek is hot.
This was all done with energetic backing music and production that was dynamic and detailed, providing a rich soundscape for Megan’s impressive flow that was both fast and clear. Lyrically, the record had multiple memorable bars that were clever and bold, such as a play on her own name and Megan’s Law in the opening track or rhyming TikTok with hip-hop on “BOA.”
Though the features were hit or miss, with the ones that worked working perfectly. “Accent” with GloRilla and “Paper Together” with UGK worked because the guest rappers kept up with Megan’s flow, and “Spin” with Victoria Monét combined rap and R&B, creating one of the best songs on the entire record.
Lows
At eighteen tracks, the album was at times repetitive, both thematically and lyrically. Though the production and flow were always incredible, not all the lyrics were top tier, some of them were a bit basic or literally too repetitive, the repetition didn’t always add to the songs. An example of both of these problems was the song “Where Them Girls At.” Some songs and lyrics could have been cut for a more focused, effective album.
The features were hit or miss as they often struggled to keep up with Megan’s flow, creating a disconnect in songs. For example the song “B.A.S.” featured Kyle Richh playing catch up on a verse that added little to the song’s intriguing storyline, and “Mamushi”' which featured Yuki Chiba and Megan rapping in Japanese which awkwardly slowed her down.
Verdict
“MEGAN” was appropriately titled as Megan Thee Stallion was unapologetically herself. She boldly called out her haters while being vulnerable, confident, and geeky. All with impressive flow, perfect production, and creative lyricism. Though it could have benefitted from fewer features and cutting some repetition, “MEGAN” had an infectious, venomous bite.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
