Megan Thee Stallion has announced her return from her (three-month) hiatus with a new single titled “Thot Sh**”. Her “break” from music is one of the shortest and busiest breaks in music history. During her hiatus, she appeared in countless songs with artists such as Lil Baby, Maroon 5, and DJ Khaled. This brings us to our topic. When an artist is popping for an extended period, fans get tired of them no matter how great an artist is. Meg is no exception to that. Her breakout mixtape, Fever was one of the best projects of 2019, and it launched her into heights no one could’ve predicted. But after “The Year of Thee Stallion”, she released her EP, titled Suga. It was garbage. Her only saving grace was the very catchy Tik-Tok songs, “Savage” and “Captain Hook”. Then, her so-called “fall off” began.
Thee Stallion Needs Some Rest
A stallion can only run for so long before she runs out of energy. Megan Thee Stallion’s breakout mixtape, Tina Snow was Meg’s first big win. “Big Ole Freak” was a huge hit that rang around every club you’d go to (pre-covid, of course.) She took advantage of the spotlight “Big Ole Freak” gave her and dropped the mixtape, Fever only a few months after the single gain mainstream attention. Fever came out at the worst possible time for an up-and-coming artist. Her mixtape came out the same night as Tyler, the Creator, and DJ Khaled’s albums. Upon first listen, I already knew Meg was special. She took my ears from two high-profile artists that I usually would listen to first. Fever was easily the best project of the night and one of the best projects of the year.
After her monumental year, Megan stayed in the limelight and released her EP, Suga. Immediately upon release, it was evident that Megan was losing steam. Half of the tracks all had the same lyrical content, punchlines, and all too similar production. After the first listen, one thing was true, “Savage” and “Captain Hook” were the only standouts. That sentiment turned out to be true. Soon after the release of the EP, Tik-Tok picked up both tracks and they became huge hits on the video-sharing app. That success transferred over to their commercial success as well. “Savage” gained so much mainstream attention; Megan was able to be blessed with the coveted Beyonce feature on the remix. The remix immediately charted number one on the Billboard Hot 100, a first for Megan.
Good News or Bad?
With the success of the two singles from the EP, it seemed like Megan had sidestepped the criticism from the rather lackluster, Suga. When she began her album rollout later in 2020, it seemed like it was going to be a huge success. While it was received well both commercially and critically, I was not a fan of the album. Excluding a few of the tracks, it was boring. Most of the songs featured Megan’s signature autotune crooning and it is almost unlistenable. “Don’t Rock Me To Sleep” is one of the worst songs I’ve heard since “Ratchet Happy Birthday”. Meg, please never release Forever 21 dressing room music ever again. I am begging you. Good News was not without some shining tracks. The certified bop, “Body” was a fun song and received a lot of buzz. But many (including myself) wanted Megan to return to her Tina Snow sound.
Thee Stallion Never Stops
As much as I hated what Megan chose to do for her debut album, I was happy to see all her resounding success from that terrible album. As much as I wanted her to return to her style during her Tina Snow/Fever eras, she doesn’t need to. Last year was her biggest year yet. She spent multiple weeks at number one on the Hot 100 with her song and was featured on Cardi B’s raunchy single, “WAP”. She won a Grammy off her number one single, “Savage”, she won Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance. At the end of the day, whatever she’s doing right now, regardless of how much I hate it, is working. I can’t fault her if she continues the path she’s forged.
The Return of Tina Snow
When artists find themselves stumped with what to release next after they changed their sound multiple times, they tend to return to form. Megan Thee Stallion is no different. After her three projects following Tina Snow, she has decided to return to this alter-ego for her new single. “Thot Sh**” is just more of what we’ve grown to love from her. As per her Twitter, Megan said she wanted to repurpose and take back the words, “Hoe” and “Thot”. The music video is one of the most creative releases of 2021 so far.
The Year of the Stallion
Coming off her biggest year ever, Megan Thee Stallion will most definitely reach even higher highs in 2021. She is now a Grammy award-winning artist, has two number ones under her belt, and she is sure to have countless hits this year. Her new single seems to be proving that fact.
