Megan Thee Stallion - Good News (Album Review)
Megan Thee Stallion has dropped her debut album titled 'Good News'. The rapper has been one of the biggest breakout stars of the last few years, dominating the charts and winning countless awards. I have enjoyed what I've heard so far from Megan, I think she's one of the most exciting female rappers in the game right now - so it was time to see if she'd deliver over the course of a full length project.
The production is fine on here, there's some really banging beats, such as 'Circles' which has these great vocal samples, a catchy drum pattern and deep 808s as she talks about moving on from a man who did her wrong. It has a really catchy hook, it's definitely a banger and that's all I can say - it just sounds really good. There's some that are not so good - but I still wouldn't describe them as bad, as on 'Body' which has this menacing, deep trap beat - but the vocal samples of a girl's sexual moans is a bit strange and off-putting as she talks on how girls are jealous of her body and men want to sleep with her. Her lyrics are decent and she drops a really nice hook, with a decent delivery too but them vocal samples really hold it back - decent track but could’ve been more. The instrumentals mostly consists of trap beats with deep elements and other instruments to partner that. Overall it's not exactly the most standout production but it's enjoyable. 'Go Crazy' has these unique, falling wooden instruments and rest of the beat is good as the track focuses on sex, flexing their wealth, fuck the haters and being a boss. Megan's lyrics are OK but Big Sean comes in hard with that slick delivery all the way through with some good one liners, "If the sextape leak and everyone see, know it's gon' be a classic (Classic)", as 2 Chainz provides a solid flow and great delivery to give us a good feature. It's a great track, the plucking strings in the beat sounds great, the features perform, it has a nice hook and Megan brings her usual charisma to the track.
Lyrically Megan can drop some nasty, ferocious and straight up hard bars - even dumb but stupid as shown on 'Don't Stop', "Give me big head like IT (Ah) // Lick, lick, lick me 'til I scream", as the track is an intrusive song all on their sex life and the sex they desire, featuring Young Thug who comes through with them vocal inflections and that unique flow of his and glides the robotic bass and banging 808s which sounds amazing to create one of my favourite beats on here. It's simplistic but a banger as Thug elevates this to the next level and it’s a great finish to the album. She also knows how to brag without sounding generic, as on 'Sugar Baby', "Designer on my sheets, boy, I sleep like a bad bitch (Bad bitch)", "He said, "Let's make a movie," and nutted so quick, we made a story (Ugh)", as she talks on sleeping with this man as long as his dicks big and he’s going to buy her stuff. The electronic synths acting as drums and a bass are decent but not my favourite and at this point it's my least favourite song so far, but it's still a good song and catchy it just doesn’t stand out as much as the previous ones. Her graphic style can be disturbing, and she's far from an elite lyricist but she's entertaining with her bars and isn't a generic rapper saying the same thing in the same way over and over. 'Freaky Girls' see's Megan provide some solid braggadocio, "Do you know who you dealin' with? Ain't convicted, but killin' shit // Caught a jet just to buy a car, I'm the flyest bitch on the dealership", over this stripped back beat which is again G-Funk influenced. SZA's hook has great vocals as the track focuses on being a boss bitch. The hook's the best part of this song, I like it but it's not the same as the opening few tracks on here which seem to have set the bar high. She has a good flow with a great fast tempo and her delivery radiates bad bitch energy - if you imagine what a bad bitch sounds like it's exactly Megan Thee Stallion and it suits her style of music perfectly.
The features are hit or miss on here - but there's more good features than bad, such as Lil Durk on 'Movie' as he gives the perspective of being a customer in the VIP of a strip club, and is a fun edition to the track. The trap beat is bland and Megan's bars are meh as she gives the perspective of a stripper from verse 3 as this guy keeps messaging her post lap dance then she spends the rest of the track talking about sex. The hooks OK, Megan’s delivery doesn’t have as much charisma in verse 1 but verse 3 is fine with a great flow, Durk the best part of the track and overall it's OK. There are obviously then bad features on this album, including Popcaan on 'Intercourse' who just comes with this bland and uninspired style - a bit too lowkey to the point you’re just sat there questioning what you’re listening to and his lyrics are as blunt as you can get around sex, "". To fit in with the feature it’s this Latin/Spanish, swirly, dance-hall beat which is OK from Mustard as Megan gave us more details than she needed to on this track all about graphic sex. This song didn’t need to exist I’m afraid, the hook is just so in your face and surface level and Megan wasn’t bad but she didn’t add anything to make this track bearable. The features overall are good, the bad ones aren't noticeably too bad while the good ones really stand out on the tracks they're on. 'Savage Remix' see's Beyoncé come with such confidence and swagger with her bars, "Hips TikTok when I dance (Dance) // On that Demon Time, she might start a OnlyFans (OnlyFans) // Big B and that B stand for bands // If you wanna see some real ass, baby, here's your chance", and she comes with this whispering rap delivery and it sounds so hard, she actually does well as a rap feature (she might’ve had help from jay-z) - and she is the best feature of the album as her and Megan talk about being savage, bad bitches. There's this great piano based beat, very simple but the melody of it is so catchy and this is still the best song on here, Beyoncé snaps and can actually rap better than half the rappers these days. It has the same catchy hook and Megan’s energy and personality shines but the addition of Beyoncé makes this better than the original.
Content wise it does mostly revolve around sex, her big ass and her want for big dick, as on 'Girls in the Hood' which has this electronic synth bass, twinkling bells and it’s a booming, banging beat as she provides some dumb but funny one liners that catchy me off guard, "Two watches, yeah, call me two-timin' (Two-timin')". It's a catchy song, nothing else to it really – it blew up off TikTok but while I think it’s OK I don’t see what it does that savage doesn’t do - the NWA sample is nice to hear however. We do get a mention of the Tory Lanez situation however on one of the tracks, the opener in fact 'Shots Fired' as she is claiming despite what Tory says - he's not innocent and she comes ferocious with the bars and the energy in her lyrics, "You shot a 5'10" bitch with a .22 // Talkin' 'bout bones and tendons like them bullets wasn't pellets // A pussy nigga with a pussy gun in his feelings". I get G-Funk, early 2000’s west coast vibes from this, it’s a really good beat as she goes off on Tory with a smooth flow, great delivery and great bars – it's a mean track, she’s bodied Tory and it’s a great start to the album. She also flexes her wealth, jewelry and success a lot, as on 'Do It On The Tip' where she's joined by the City Girls who drop graphic lines about what they’re going to do with their mans dick and go hard. It’s lowkey but still got that bad bitch attitude you look for from them over this pretty generic beat - although I still think these hollow drums and 808s compliment each-other well and bang. The beat bangs, Megan’s delivery’s tone changes keeps things interesting, the repetitive hook is catchy as hell and the features are great – again what can you moan about. I can’t say the content was too interesting but it’s not exactly unexpected at this point in her career.
Other tracks to look at include 'Cry Baby' which is all about big ass and sex as DaBaby provides whats not his best feature but he still goes hard with his usual flow and charisma over these deep, booming 808s and the whole thing just bangs. The hook is decent, DaBaby is fine as is the production, Megan’s flows great she steals the show and it’s another banger on here. 'What's New' has these daunting keys are great as is the quick paced trap pattern as she drops some funny one liners and makes a big fuck you song to her haters, "We was bangin' and he beat that pussy red, SuWoo (Yeah, yeah)". This is more like the opening tracks - an energetic banger with Megan’s personality shining through – the hook could’ve been more captivating but it’s fine. 'Work That' has this pretty basic trap beat, it’s decent as Megan talks about riding men's dicks like a rodeo. It's graphic but Megan provides a nice melody on the hook, the verses solid and it's another banger on here – her flow in verse 2 is great, quick paced and rolls off the tongue so effortlessly.
'Don't Rock Me to Sleep' has this more glossy instrumental which sounds great as Megan comes with confident and more introspective lyrics talking on a relationship breaking down because the guy is a fuckboy and Megan is saying he can go and she won’t cry. It seems a really cheap attempt at hit – but oh my god is it catchy as hell with that hook as Megan tries singing over rapping here and I'm fine with it – and I know I shouldn’t but I just love this track. Finally, 'Outside' again has these glossy keys, deep trap elements and it bangs as she talks on a relationship and what he bought her and how she kept things interesting with different personalities and her sexual experiences. This sounds like many other Megan songs without the excitement, it doesn’t sound bad it’s just painfully uninteresting.
To conclude, It’s a good album, it has a few duds and overall isn’t a standout project but it’s full of trap bangers and this cocky, hard delivery from Megan which never gets old. It’s not really got content but Megan is legitimately a good rapper who provides flashy flows and some solid one liners as this production compliments her style well. Not every feature hits but the ones that hit do hit well but even so Megan could’ve had a few songs cut because not all 17 are good but even so there’s definitely a positive ratio of good to bad songs. It’s a really energetic project as well which is why you can stay hyped throughout its 50 minute run time – she’s always so charismatic, raring to go and one of the best female rappers of the new generation to keep an eye on, she knows how to make a hit and she can make a solid album so I’m excited to see what comes from her in the future.
FAVOURITE TRACKS: Shots Fired, Circles, Cry Baby, Do It On The Tip, Sugar Baby, Freaky Girls, What's New, Work That, Go Crazy, Don't Rock Me to Sleep, Savage Remix, Don't Stop
LEAST FAVOURITE TRACK: Intercourse
OVERALL RATING: Solid 7/10