Until recently, Megan Thee Stallion avoided writing lyrics about the painful experiences in her life, from the death of her mother to an altercation with rapper/singer Tory Lanez in which she was allegedly shot in the foot. “Shots Fired,” the opening song on 2020’s Good News, took direct lyrical aim at Lanez, while “Thot Shit” addressed the criticisms she’s received from conservative men regarding her hyper-sexualized image.
With her follow-up, Traumazine, Megan has gone completely mask-off.
The title of “Not Nice” sums up the rapper’s current state of mind: “I’m on my fuck you shit, bitch, I’m done being nice/And when it come to cuttin’ people off, I don’t think twice,” she proclaims. Song after song is dedicated to revenge, with sex only a secondary, if still prominent, concern. The album describes living through a barrage of jealousy and condescension, with an added layer of anger directed at other rappers and former friends.
On the flipside, Megan displays more vulnerability on “Anxiety” than she ever has before, letting the person behind the swagger show: “Bad bitches have bad days too,” she admits. And she dips her toes into the political on the sexually charged “Gift & a Curse,” with an all-purpose statement about women’s autonomy: “My motherfucking body, my choice.”
Megan’s attempts at pop and R&B crossover are less successful. Traumazine’s production, full of cavernous piano chords and punchy 808s, finds a sweet spot that’s mainstream enough to appeal to a wide audience while still threatening to blow out your woofers. But “Sweetest Pie,” featuring Dua Lipa, sounds closer in style to the slick, disco-influenced dance-pop of Lipa’s Future Nostalgia than the exuberant hip-hop of Traumazine.
The Houston posse cut “Southern Royalty Freestyle,” featuring Sauce Walka, Big Pokey, and Lil Keke, would’ve made a more fitting closing track, as it connects Megan to the city’s rap scene which can be traced back to DJ Screw’s Screwed Up Click. For all of Traumazine’s references to Megan’s enemies, collaborations like this hint at a more positive worldview, with the stoking of rivalry replaced with the fostering of a sense of community.
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