Spectreview: Megan Thee Stallion – Good News

Released: November 20, 2020

Hip-Hop/Rap

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“Badder than your favorite bad bitch
Turned the whole world into a savage
Middle finger in all of my pictures
Just to remind y’all I ain’t havin’ it”

Hype is a finite resource, in that it can only be rationed out to a select few individuals in any given year. And as far as rappers go, Megan Thee Stallion damn near holds a monopoly in the muted landscape of 2020. Though she’s not a break-out star by any means, she can still lay claim to two of the wildest-selling singles of the year: the J. White-produced “Savage” and Cardi B’s hilariously controversial “WAP.” Between their individual releases, she’s publicly courted challenges both legal (against her record label) and physical (against an actual gunshot), her conquering of which have only contributed to her rise in profile as a confident, charismatic figure in the rap world.

So, finally, some Good News. Her latest is being marketed as her first full-length, which at this point is just a formality; the world at large has been aware of her talent since she dropped Fever last year. But it is does feel like the first release where Megan is able to respond to her newfound ascendence, and she does so in a fittingly celebratory way.

Good News, first and foremost (and possibly in a singular fashion), is fun. It’s a blast to listen to, but differently so than the harder-edged Suga or the famished, trap-heavy Fever. Instead, Megan and her features are largely revelrous, taking the album’s opening moments to mirror-force Tony Lanez into oblivion and whip her ex-lovers into paste. Her signature sex-forward jams cover the record in spades, from the flexing “Crybaby” to the explanatory “Do It On The Dick” to the back-and-forth of “Movie” and the addictive hook of “Body”. She backs these tracks up with pyrokinetic displays of flow – watch how “Work That” and “Circles” pop off – and the steely candor of a rapper at the top of their game.

Albums, especially rap albums, with extended track numbers can get bogged down by their own weight, but Good News is surprisingly lightweight and easy to traverse. It’s balanced well and saves the best stuff for the end, including the Beyoncé-featuring, world-dominating “Savage Remix” and the unimpeachable “Girls in the Hood.” The rest is one banger after another, without a precipitous dip in energy. There’s nothing terribly new you’ll learn, but it’s still an ideal release for an artist in an ideal position: taking stock of her victories and piling up the trophies.

Recommended for car karaoke.