Good News (Megan Thee Stallion album)
Good News is the debut studio album by American rapper Megan Thee Stallion. It was released on November 20, 2020, by 300 Entertainment and 1501 Certified. The album features guest appearances from DaBaby, City Girls, Lil Durk, SZA, Popcaan, Mustard, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Young Thug, and Beyoncé. The music was written and produced with a host of musicians, including D.A Got That Dope, LilJuMadeDaBeat, Juicy J, J. White Did It, and Scott Storch.
Good News
November 20, 2020
49:50
- Avedon
- Buddah Bless
- Cool & Dre
- D.A Got That Dope
- Helluva
- IllaDaProducer
- J. White Did It
- Juicy J
- Tay Keith
- Benjamin Lasnier
- LilJuMadeDaBeat
- Mustard
- Pooyandeh
- J. R. Rotem
- Scott Storch
- Cody Tarpley
Good News was met with widespread acclaim, with critics praising the clever and compelling qualities of Megan Thee Stallion's raps. The album produced four singles: "Girls in the Hood", released on June 26, 2020, "Don't Stop", featuring Young Thug, released on October 2, 2020, "Body", released alongside the album, and "Cry Baby", featuring DaBaby, released on February 3, 2021. The album also contains the remix of the single "Savage" from Suga, featuring Beyoncé, which earned Megan her first number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Commercially, Good News debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 after moving over 100,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.[2] In addition to topping both the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Rap Albums charts, it also peaked in the top 50 of countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.
Background[edit]
Megan Pete, known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, began writing hip hop music as a student at Texas Southern University in Houston. After videos of her freestyle rapping went viral, Megan released a mixtape titled Tina Snow in 2018. The critical and commercial success of Tina Snow caught the attention of 300 Entertainment, with whom Megan signed in November 2018. She became the first female rap artist to sign with 300 since the label's establishment in 2012.[3] The song "Big Ole Freak" from Tina Snow became Megan Thee Stallion's first Billboard Hot 100 chart entry, and also appeared at number nine on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, and number 38 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.[4] She followed up with the mixtape Fever, released on May 17, 2019, via 300 Entertainment and 1501 Certified. Fever debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200.[5]
In October 2019, the rapper first discussed plans about dropping her debut studio album in 2020 while promoting her upcoming project Suga. She further stated that she was "ready to settle down with an album".[6] Megan had first intended for her Suga to be her debut album, but following legal troubles between her and her label, 1501 Certified, it was instead released as an extended play (EP) on March 6, 2020.[7][8]
Seven months later, in October 2020, she provided more insight into the album-making process, including posting pictures with frequent producer LilJuMadeDaBeat, and also first acknowledging that her album was under production, tweeting on October 17, 2020, "My album abt to go crazy".[9] At that time, she was awaiting two more features to finalize the recording process.[10] She also stated that she used the time during quarantine to write and record for her album.[11] About the recording process, she said: "When I'm by myself, that's when my creativity comes to me. The whole album was basically written in the living room, the shower, the backyard—just visualise it with me."[12] She officially announced the album through social media on November 12,[13][14] followed by the reveal of its tracklist on November 17.[15]
Music and lyrics[edit]
On Good News, Megan Thee Stallion raps about the controversy surrounding herself and Tory Lanez, partying, sex, her personal life, and men she prefers not to date.[16] One critic noted that despite being filled with "sex positivity and club-ready anthems", the album also contains "glimpses of that [serious] tone was first introduced with 'Shots Fired'".[17] "Shots Fired", the opening track, is built around a sample of the 1995 song "Who Shot Ya?" by The Notorious B.I.G. and has been described as a "traditional", "strong" and "scathing" indirect diss track with a "ringing, stark beat" aimed at fellow rapper Tory Lanez in response to his album Daystar, which itself was released in response to allegations that Lanez shot Megan in July 2020.[18][19][20]
The second track, "Circles", was described as "one of [Megan's] signature bad b*tch anthems", and sees her rapping over a sample of Jazmine Sullivan's 2010 single "Holding You Down (Goin' in Circles)", with lyrics that exhibit Megan's resiliency.[20][21] "Cry Baby" featuring DaBaby has been described as a "slow, tick-tock-ing" song with a "haunting backing track", revolving around Megan and DaBaby's active sex lives.[16][17] "Sugar Baby" was described as "bluesy [and] brassy"; a track that sees Megan "transcend sweetness" with lyrics that see her "imploring her cheapskate lover to save his money for the future".[16][22]
"Freaky Girls" featuring SZA was a highly anticipated collaboration. It contains a sample of Adina Howard's 1995 debut single "Freak Like Me" and was described as "immaculate" and "a true highlight" that is "audibly rooted in 90s G-funk" with "catchy and sex-positive" lyrics.[17][20][23][24][25] "Body", the third single from the album, was described as a "crisp three minutes of bouncy beats and self-confident lyrics", seeing Megan "celebrating body positivity".[20][21] "What's New" was described as a "quintessential Megan record where she thrashes her haters for talking reckless about her",[21] while "Work That" was called "a fun, club-friendly track" that samples rapper Juvenile's 2006 single "Rodeo" and saw Megan "continue to boast about her sexual prowess".[17][21] "Intercourse" featuring Popcaan and Mustard was described as "island-tinged" and "syrupy" with "Megan [...] thriving on the dancehall sound" of the track,[16][21] and "Go Crazy" featuring Big Sean and 2 Chainz was called "lithe" and sees Megan "standing tall when sparring with Big Sean and 2 Chainz [...] with two punchy verses".[17][21] "Go Crazy" samples The Jackson 5’s "ABC" as well as Naughty By Nature’s "O.P.P.".[26]
"Don't Rock Me to Sleep" features Megan singing about "moving on from a relationship" while "taking a shot at pop success".[20][21] "Outside" was described as a "fun, celebratory record" and a "sing-song tune in a nice contrast from [Megan's] harder-hitting tracks" that was backed by an "electronic piano motif" sampled from "Something in My Heart" from the 1989 eponymous album by R&B singer Michel'le.[24][21] "Savage Remix", which features Beyoncé, goes through "minuscule instrumental changes" from the original, with the remix being called "essentially an entirely new song, with the exception of the chorus which has remained the same", lyrically. Beyoncé's verse was noted to include subtle references to women's empowerment.[27][28][29] "Girls in the Hood" samples "Boyz-n-the-Hood" by Eazy-E and has been described as a "minimal 80s gangsta rap".[24] The album closes with "Don't Stop" featuring fellow rapper Young Thug, which is a hip hop track with a "punchy electronic beat", with sex-positive lyrics.[30][27]