In the opening bars of Megan Thee Stallion’s new, self-titled album, she wastes no time at all in sticking a middle finger up, right in the direction of her detractors. “I just wanna kick this shit off by sayin' f**k y'all,” she says.
The rap superstar has spent three difficult years in the public eye following a 2020 incident which led to fellow rapper Tory Lanez being convicted of shooting her in the foot. The case went to court, and last year, a jury found him guilty: he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Visibly emotional in the courtroom, Megan Thee Stallion said that her experience speaking out during the trial had been “torture”.
Still, a guilty verdict hasn’t stopped all manner of Meg’s rap contemporaries – from Meek Mill and Chris Brown, to Soulja Boy and Drake – from standing by Tory. "This b***h lie ’bout getting shots, but she still a stallion/She don't even get the joke, but she still smiling," Drake rapped on the controversial Circo Loco.
This didn’t go unnoticed by Meg. “Stop using my shooting for clout,” she said.
As you’d expect, these events also feature on Megan. “All of you bitches is weak, on the Bible,” she says on HISS, appearing to reference the practice of swearing on the bible before addressing a courtroom, “talkin' shit from where no one can find you”.
But it’s not even the most prominent subject on an album which veers from brilliantly filthy brags and her long-running feud with Nicki Minaj, to detailing the loneliness and isolation she feels at the peak of fame.
So, from tongue-in-cheek self-love anthems to occasional moments of vulnerability, here are the standout lyrics from Megan.
“These hoes don't be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan's Law”
On one of HISS’ more striking lines, the rapper references Megan’s Law. The US law, which was introduced in 1996 following the murder of seven-year-old girl Megan Kanka, means that law enforcement authorities have to share information about registered sex offenders with the public.
It’s a fairly direct jab at Nicki Minaj and her husband Kenneth Petty, who was sentenced to home detention and probation in 2022 for failing to register as a sex offender in California. Jelani Maraj, Nicki Minaj’s brother, is currently serving 25 years in prison for raping a child.
“Damn, bitch, it been four years, Worry 'bout your man and your kid, your life must be borin' as f**k if you still reminiscin' 'bout shit that we did”
Ding ding, and it’s time for round two against Nicki – this time, Meg pokes fun at her for still being obsessed with their 2019 collaboration Hot Girl Summer
“How I go from ghosting you to makin' that dick disappear?”
If you’re even faintly aware of Megan Thee Stallion’s WAP collaboration with Cardi B then you’ll know that this is a trademark Meg lyric; sharp, funny, and incredibly filthy.
“Don't gotta edit, check the Getty, I keep it real, I keep it sexy”
For the uninitiated, Getty is a picture agency that sends photographers here there and everywhere to take snaps of everything from gigs to red carpet premieres, and many of them end up being used by the media. Unlike photographs taken by an artist’s own team, these images are never digitally altered; essentially, Meg is boasting that she doesn’t need any further yassifying in the edit suit.
“Ayy, damn, I got problems, Never thought a bitch like me would ever hit rock bottom”
But it’s not all zinging one-liners and shamelessly sexy brags; on more vulnerable moments like Cobra, Meg gets real about how much she’s struggled in the past with her celebrity status.
