On Monday (Feb. 5), Megan Thee Stallion clinched her first unaccompanied Billboard Scorching 100 No. 1 together with her scathing observe “Hiss.” After a tepid response to her 2023 single “Cobra,” the Houston Hottie coiled and struck at her antagonists. The lyrical assault not solely sealed Megan a must-needed tally within the win column amongst the hip-hop neighborhood but in addition her third No. 1 following 2020’s “Savage (Remix)” with Beyonce and Cardi B’s collab “WAP.” With the momentum swinging in Megan’s course, her upcoming album would be the most vital chapter in her story.
This album is essential for Megan, as a result of she will lastly transfer on from the Tory Lanez saga, with the mercurial hitmaker’s destiny sealed after being sentenced to 10 years for the 2020 taking pictures. The turmoil from the assault fogged Meg’s capability to hurry previous the drama, as social media typically poked enjoyable at her and, in some circumstances, took Lanez’s facet within the public drama. Although Megan loved a fruitful yr following the incident, which landed her three Grammys, together with finest new artist, she has seemingly but to succeed in the apex of her profession.
Since her acclaimed 2020 undertaking Good Information, Megan hasn’t pieced collectively a formidable string of songs beloved by followers and critics. As well as, she has but to lock in her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 – regardless of coming shut with Good Information, which bowed at No. 2. Her following album, 2022’s Traumazine, debuted at No. 4, with 63,000 album-equivalent items, exhibiting slippage from Good Information that beforehand tallied 100,000 two years earlier. Tramauzine’s singles, together with “Pressurelicious” with Future, additionally missed the mark, as did her subsequent information “Her” and “Ungrateful.” “Sweetest Pie,” her joint effort with Dua Lipa, loved radio success, however it wasn’t sufficient to maneuver the needle for Megan, spending simply two weeks on the Streaming Songs chart.
Megan returned the next yr and launched “Cobra,” which debuted at No. 32 on the Scorching 100 and vanished the week after. She and Cardi encountered an analogous destiny after they reunited for “Bongos”: Debuting and peaking at No. 14 on the Scorching 100, the track didn’t catch the identical traction as its predecessor, “WAP,” in 2020. Even when she veered again into the pop lane alongside Renée Rapp for his or her Imply Women file “Not My Fault,” the track has but to succeed in the Scorching 100. Megan’s distractions appeared to get the most effective of her: From the Tory Lanez saga to her fallout with ex-beau Pardison Fontaine to her back-and-forth court docket dealings together with her former label, 1501 Leisure, her consideration has been too divided for her to construct off her wins and recapture earlier momentum.
For Megan, her spunky angle and smash-mouth demeanor are why hip-hop drooled over her potential. Earlier than 2020, the Tina Snow MC killed each function she touched together with her gruff raps and hard-nosed supply. “Hiss” landed so properly as a result of Megan confirmed she may faucet again into that hungry rhyme-slinger with heavy haymakers. If she will proceed that vitality and sprinkle her signature wit on additional bangers, she will simply get her profession again on observe going into her subsequent album. Already, Meg could possibly be eying one other massive hit, after teasing a brand new track with 41’s Kyle Richh, which sounded fairly promising.
It could even be nice if she opened her arms and collaborated with extra fast-rising feminine rappers. On Traumazine, Meg labored with Latto on “Finances,” proving she has no points working with different feminine MCs. Since she additionally likes teaming up with pop acts, she will name on a hybrid like Doja Cat, who can serve each bars and vocals on a platter, boosting the observe’s enchantment. In totality, if Meg can stroll the tightrope of creating hits with pleasing rhymes, she shouldn’t have any points toppling the doubters. Even in efforts to get followers excited once more, it could be nice to see her return to notable freestyle circuits like LA Leakers, and someplace new like On the Radar, to indicate that even whereas she’s within the mainstream gentle, she will pivot again to the hip-hop staples simply as shortly. To high off these efforts, to dwell as much as her Scorching Woman moniker, a summer time launch timed with a tour would work in a favor, contemplating she’s but to dominate that season the way in which she would have wished to earlier than.
Meg must ship the following go-round as a result of she’s dropping floor on her spot. Her main adversary of late, Nicki Minaj, has little to show, together with her profession already solidified, particularly after notching one other No. 1 album with Pink Friday 2 final fall. Months later, she nonetheless has two Pink Friday 2 songs nonetheless lingering within the Scorching 100 (“All people” and “FTCU”) and gearing up for the beginning of her world tour, which shall be arena-driven. In the meantime, her frequent collaborator Cardi B has discovered a special street to latest relevance, placing her remix stamp on underground hits like GloRilla’s “Tomorrow,” and FendiDa Rappa’s “Level Me to the Slut’s” and serving to them go mainstream.
Apart from Nicki and Cardi thriving, Megan should additionally pay attention to the surge of ascendant rappers who’ve damaged out whereas she’s struggled to seek out her footing the previous couple of years. Latto is lastly in her rhythm, executing as each a cerebral MC and Scorching 100 mainstay, notching a follow-up hit to 2022’s “Huge Power” together with her piercing (and Cardi-assisted) “Put It on the Ground Once more,” and likewise scoring a Scorching 100 No. 1 together with her visitor look on Jung Kook’s smash “Seven.” Ice Spice can be knocking on the door of superstardom after a powerful two years, together with 4 high 10 hits within the Scorching 100 and 4 Grammy nominations this previous yr. Flo Milli is lastly piecing issues collectively and is having fun with the most effective run of her profession together with her present high 20 Scorching 100 single “By no means Lose Me.”
To Megan’s credit score, she stays a family identify in music and is flourishing as a businesswoman, particularly on this planet of TV and leisure. She’s hosted SNL and made cameos in Imply Women, Dicks: The Musical, and Marvel’s TV sequence SheHulk. She additionally secured a first-look cope with Netflix, absolutely crystallizing her want to be a multi-platform leisure star.
Whereas these wins are nice, Megan, at her core, is a rapper, one who can stroll into any cipher and bulldoze her method to the middle. Now that she is paving her lane as an impartial artist with the help of Warner Music for distribution, and sustaining possession of her masters — a feat not often seen by a feminine rapper below 30. And as soon as the post-“Hiss” fury dies down, she shouldn’t have any extra distractions. She hasn’t toured since 2019, and is persistently billed below artists with lesser identify recognition on competition lineups. She has the catalog, the stage presence and charisma to make her a worthy headliner, which is why it’s essential for her to re-establish her big-dog cred in hip-hop this yr.
For Meg, the ball is in her court docket, and all she has to do is present up and dominate the way in which we all the time dreamed she may on album quantity three. However she higher do it quickly, or else she dangers letting a golden alternative to completely change the dialog on her previous few years slip away.
