Megan Thee Stallion: Good News | 4ZZZ Brisbane 102.1FM

- Few people can claim to have had a good year throughout 2020. Of those few, barely any have had the year that Megan Thee Stallion has had. Coming off XXL and her Fever project last year, Megan has seen a wave of success with her last EP Suga, big hit Savage, the even bigger Beyonce remix and of course the much talked about WAP with Cardi B. Even beyond the music Megan has created significant ongoing drama with singer Tory Lanez after an incident in which she was shot in the foot. Now with debut record Good News, Megan is hopeful to continue her rise to the top and establish why she is the name in everyone’s mouths.

Shots Fired immediately addresses the Tory drama, head on, as Megan comes for the singer, as well as others including an ex-friend, over a remix of The Notorious B.I.G.’s classic Who Shot Ya beat. Megan has continued to impress me by remixing famous beats with female-centric lyrics, a tactic that reappears late in the track list with revamped Easy-E cut Girls in The Hood as well as a Tupac beat off Suga. While Shots Fired may not have the coldest insults, Megan’s one-liners and '90's-esque flow allow it to hit the necessities of a solid diss track.

Strip-club anthems remain Megan’s bread and butter with tracks like Body and Do It on the Tip which rely on their incessant hooks. It's a feature which Tip does significantly better than the repetitive Body. These are loud and bombastic tunes with bass-heavy energy designed to do what a strip-club anthem should, as Megan continues to flaunt the fact that she sells more than just her ability on the mic.

If people want to continue discussing the power difference between male and female rappers in the industry, it should be noted that almost none of the male rappers featured on Good News bring anything to table. DaBaby contributes his overused flow to the decent Cry Baby over the same bassline that he has used on every song since 2018. Lil Durk is somehow asleep on a bouncing Tay Keith beat for Movie despite Megan trying her best to save the song with a matching (but much better) flow that perfectly rides the production while I don’t even know what Popcaan is attempting with a vulgar and stupid chorus on tropical track Intercourse where even Megan seems bored.

Go Crazy is built on a small yet successful Jackson 5 sample which may prove it to be a charts winner if released as a single. Megan leads off with a fiery verse in which she promises to go Super Saiyan despite the fact she only needs looks to sell. Big Sean is an eyeroll with lines about editing women out of leaked sex-tapes but thankfully 2 Chains does his usual with a few witty one-liners.

There are a few tracks not mentioned here that bring the album down a bit, especially a pretty awful pop number where Megan’s vocals just don’t work. Beyond this though, Good News is a fun pop-trap hybrid delivered by a solid MC with good flows and a whole mile of presence. Despite a variety of setbacks for Megan, Good News is exactly that: a solid debut from a promising artist who continues to find monumental success.

- James Chadwick.