(300 Records)
The Texan rapper comes out swinging on her latest release – slinging a seemingly limitless supply of fantastic insults at the industry and countless nameless foes
Released amid a hail of controversy – some of it stemming from an incident in which its author was shot, allegedly by rapper Tory Lanez – Megan Thee Stallion’s 2020 debut album Good News was an exercise in optimism from its title down. Two years on, there’s more controversy – the Texan rapper is currently engaged in a bitter legal battle with her record label – but her mood has clearly changed. The title of Good News’ follow-up is derived from “a chemical released in the brain when it is forced to deal with painful emotions caused by traumatic events”; the video announcing its release featured a funeral, gatecrashed by Megan Thee Stallion in an absolutely enormous hat. “I’m on my fuck-you shit, bitch, I’m done being nice,” she announces a few minutes after Traumazine begins.
You can say that again: there are fleeting and very occasional references to wider current events, including Roe v Wade – “my body, my motherfucking choice,” she snaps on Gift and a Curse – but Traumazine largely sticks to the topic of what she calls “fake-ass, snake-ass, backstabbing, hatin’-ass, no money, kidding-ass bitches”. Suitably riled, she comes out swinging to such a degree that even the rhymes about sex feel strangely confrontational and pugilistic. Red Wine has her “looking at your pretty face while I’m straddling it”: her delivery makes it sound as if she’s describing murdering someone, rather than showing them a good time.
