Megan Thee Stallion has left her footprints in the sands of Rap once again with her debut album, “Good News”. The “Hot Girl Summer” rapper took to social media to reveal the official 17-song tracklist for the album on Nov. 17, 2020, causing fans to erupt with bubbling anticipation. The official release was just three days later on Nov. 20, through the 300 Entertainment record label.
Within the album’s running time of 50 minutes, every nanosecond was utilized, overflowing with fierce wordplay and thumping beats that you can’t get out of your head. Thee Stallion embodied the phrase “go hard or go home” by having over 14 producers and 10 features on this debut. The features included DaBaby, City Girls, Lil Durk, SZA, Popcaan, Mustard, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Beyonce and Young Thug.
Needless to say, with so much talent being hands-on for “Good News,” each song was certainly expected to be impressive. Out of the 17 songs, the most noteworthy were “Shots Fired”, “Crybaby” featuring DaBaby, “Girls In The Hood” and “Savage Remix” featuring Beyonce.
“Good News” made an unforgettable entrance as soon as the first song, “Shots Fired,” began. Rapping over the sample of the iconic Notorious B.I.G’s “Who Shot Ya,” Megan addressed her situation of being shot in July of 2020. A standout jab from this was, “…and if it weren’t for me, same week you would have been indicted.” Thee Stallion later addressed this particular line, stating that she did not want to immediately tell the police who shot her due to her fear of police brutality. Megan also referenced the shooting in another song on the debut, Circles, saying “Bullet wounds, backstabs, mama died, still sad.”
“Girls In The Hood” was a standout song due to similar reasons as “Who Shot Ya”, sampling icon Eazyz-E’s “Boyz-n-the-Hood.” Thee Stallion paid homage to this classic in her own way by flipping the narrative to reclaiming her authority, causing fragile egos to tremble.
DaBaby is no stranger to working with Megan, and the duo returned once again for the hit “Crybaby.” The power pair went bar for bar, interchanging the lines “Her friends and her mom hate me” and “His friends and his dad hate me.” The playful track was a perfect suit for the two’s reunion.
The “Savage Remix” not only left its mark on the album but left its mark at the Grammys as well, winning the 2021 Best Rap Performance along with the Best Rap Song. The song escalated from becoming a viral TikTok dance trend all the way to blossoming as Thee Stallion’s first Grammy wins, and her first number one on the U.S Billboard hot 100. The Houston natives brought the “Beyhive” and the “Hotties” together in a powerful union.
Since its release, “Good News” has marked the charts for heavy-hitters such as Billboard, Complex, Los Angeles Times, and Rolling Stone, ranking within the 50 best albums of 2020 for each.
“Good News” undeniably symbolizes a victory lap for Megan Thee Stallion after a past year of enduring many unfortunate circumstances. Megan used the rocks that were thrown at her to build her stepping stones, all while effortlessly dropping rhymes that made listeners’ jaws drop. The success of this debut album is certainly the “good news” to read all about.
