Music Review: Megan Thee Stallion’s Fierce ‘Megan’ Swaps Hot Girl Summers for a Different Freedom

“Just like a snake sheds its skin, we must let go of our past, over and over again,” Megan Thee Stallion he says in the spoken intro to his “Cobra” music video. It is the first single from “Megan”, her third studio albumand one of the many songs channeling snakes.

It sounds as strong as ever, above choppy riffs and buzzing synths. Megan lengthens and tightens the syllables to increase the weight of her words, a reminder that she is lived a few years of nightmare, and she’s working to come out the other side. It may seem hard on the ears to wait for her warm, feel-good summer declarations, but on this album, Megan is more interested in exorcising the demons given to her by her haters.

It makes sense that Megan Thee Stallion – whose birth name is Megan Pete – would self-title this record, born of a newfound autonomy. It is a self-released album, having reached a settlement with his former record label 1501 Certified Entertainment after three years of litigation.

It is also his first album since the end of the criminal case against Tory Lanez, which was sentenced to 10 years in prison in August for shooting and wounding Megan in the feet, concluding a three-year legal and cultural saga that saw two careers and lives in crisis. In the years since the 2020 shooting, Megan — a three-time Grammy winner and hip-hop superstar — has become the target of widespread misinformation and social media vitriol directed against her in a clear example of misogynoira specific type of misogyny experienced by black women.

She managed to turn this pain and betrayal into art – or, at least, filter her frustrations through it, sharpening her flow in the process. “Boa” is self-assured, with an energetic sample of Gwen Stefani’s 2004 hit “What You Waiting For?”

“Hiss” is a dissy, hard-hitting track with multiple targets – another controlled track. Arrogant bars are found at every turn, challenged in just a few moments – as in the repetition of “I am worthy / not worthless”, in the pop “Dignified”. It’s like a meditative mantra spoken into a mirror, a woman working to convince herself of her own worth.

That said, there are still moments of joyful pleasure (“Broke His Heart,” “Find Out,” the twinkling self-satisfaction of “Down Stairs DJ”), charming detours into his admiration for Japanese culture (“Otaku Hot Girl,” “ Mamushi” with Yuki Chiba) and energetic collaborations (“Spin” with Victoria Monet“Accent” with GloRilla.) But on “Megan,” the rapper’s main focus seems to be outdoing her detractors — without so many of her previous joyful highs. And who could blame her?

Snake imagery hasn’t been used this effectively since Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” era, an album about victimization and retribution. But in Swift’s universe, snakes were a metaphor for her enemy – for Megan, they’re a symbol of strength, of renewal – with a real bite. You have to suck out the poison to remove it, right?