The Weekly Coos

Though I didn’t expect “Hiss,” Megan’s diss response to Nicki Minaj and those who spread heinous misinformation about the situation revolving around the shooting, to open her new album, Megan; I additionally didn’t expect that energy to dissipate quickly. Unfortunately, much of that comes from the production and Megan thee Stallion’s flows, where it wavers poorly, and you’re almost left bored by the missed opportunities and filler. What starts as a fantastic one-two punch with “Hiss” and “Rattle,” the latter of which also takes a shot at Nicki Minaj, one could easily get hyped for greatness, that the bad album cover can be a distant memory, but it doesn’t, especially with much of the bad coming in the middle. With the production being homogenous, Megan doesn’t feel challenged to get creative, and her flows sound like she straddles a safe line of what works and rarely lets that full Houston out, specifically in the track with UGK. Megan is more disappointing than bad, considering the musical fluidity in her last album, Traumazine, as she opted to explore new sounds, unlike here, where it’s more of the same drums, gimmicky chorus, etc., making it longer than needed. 

Megan, in some ways, sounds like Megan Thee Stallion’s Hardcore, the 1994 Lil Kim album that revitalized owning one’s sexuality in a new light with its promiscuity, not shying from what conformity was for women then. Megan does so with some avidity, which can be refreshing or washed when she feels one needs a reminder of her physique without going anywhere with the reference. It’s what separates tracks like “BOA” and “Broke His Heart,” where the former is poppier and feels like it’s pandering to a comfort zone without entwining itself into more verbose areas like its anime and video game influences, whereas “Broke His Heart” sees Megan commanding the beat, giving us promiscuity where she is in control instead of playing it for sexiness. It adds to the depth with the braggadocio tracks, which shroud the album, but like that of “Broke His Heart” there are some quality ones that are worth having on replay like “Miami Blue,” featuring Big Krit and Buddah Bless, “Downstairs DJ,” and “Figueroa.” It’s something one would want from the anime-driven “Otaku Hot Girl,” however, it dampens an intriguing concept, staying vanilla front to back with the lyrics, even with the fun cameo by Adam McArthur, aka Yuji Itadori from the Anime Jujutsu Kaisen. 

That level of disappointment emanating from “Otaku Hot Girl” is representative of so many tracks in the middle, like the tri-track run of “Mamushi,” “Accent,” and “Paper Together,” where there is no juice from all, even with some dope bars here and there, and more so when trying to fit in a Pimp C verse into the fray. These inclusions can sometimes be difficult, and it doesn’t work here. The features aren’t the main reason for these tracks’ weaknesses; the production isn’t up to snuff with what we have heard from Megan before, and it’s more of the same from the drums, even when the rappers have the energy to keep you somewhat engaged like “Accent,” but it still doesn’t work. Megan does have her momentous highs, though, like the first two-thirds of “BAS” or the smooth and jazzier “Worthy,” a rare Megan branching out moment. That may happen minimally here, but you can’t say Megan thee Stallion is sleepwalking; it’s more, she isn’t always giving us something interesting through unique concepts. It’s why songs with replay value do so because, beyond the production, they have an elevated presence that latches onto you, making you want to keep it in rotation like the tonal strength of “Moody Girl” despite the corny “Real motherfuckin’ sad girl shit, ah” line to open it.

Megan opens and closes potently with solid five-track runs that exemplify Megan thee Stallion’s strength without teetering into gimmick levels with the choruses, which she does with some of her non-nuanced anime-influenced tracks or playful moments like with “Accent,” which fits the tonal aesthetics but doesn’t move the needle, despite both Megan and Glorilla bringing some juice to the song. When a track hits, and is great, you’ll know it, especially with the impact it has riding high like with “Down Stairs DJ,” where that want to see her get down and dirty with the beats come to fruition with Honorable C-Note, who has given us countless fantastic trap beats throughout the years. Though the production does come from an eclectic bunch, there is still an inconsistency that becomes more inherent when you have to compare what LilJuMadeDaBeat gives us with the first four beats, because the others have varying backgrounds, purposely, to bolster the strengths from a specific style. We do get some, like the reflective “Moody Girl,” the Hip-Hop/R&B hybrid essence of “Spin,” or “Cobra,” which does what “Moody Girl” does, but with more hunger from the live instrumentations—shout out the electric guitar’s layered highs.

It’s neat to get some moments of vulnerability and creativity from Megan thee Stallion, but there aren’t many true positives to take from this album. It isn’t as ambitious, and the filler tracks like “BOA,” “Find Out,” “Accent,” or the slightly comical “B.A.S.” feel as such upon replays. It’s one of the bigger disappointments of 2024, especially with the hype Megan was amassing for this, but leaving shocked that she isn’t trying makes it harder to recommend. It has solid tracks, but those are far and around a bulk of mediocrity; I’d rather go back to listen to Traumazine or her debut because at least she wasn’t doing a simple cakewalk over comfort. Give it a shot, maybe my standards are tepid and you love this more than me, and that’s awesome.