Traumazine by Megan Thee Stallion | Album Review

The surprise second album from the hip-hop phenomenon pulls no punches while continuing to do what she does best.

Credit: 1501 Certified, 300 Entertainment

Houston’s own Megan Pete, known much better as Megan Thee Stallion, had a fairly normal come-up in the rap scene.

Pete, whose mother also rapped professionally, grew up in the recording studio. She began writing raps at 14, and by 18, she knew she would pursue performing as a career.

Her signature braggadocious and sexually explicit bars on some viral YouTube videos attracted the attention of 1501 Certified Entertainment, who signed her in early 2018. A successful EP released there led to her jumping to 300 Entertainment by the end of that year.

2019 saw her get her first top 20 single and also sign a management deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. She also faced a double dose of tragedy when her mother and grandmother both passed that March. But 2020 would serve Megan the ultimate rollercoaster.

March 2020 saw the release of her “Savage (Remix),” featuring Beyoncé, which became Megan’s first number one hit. In June, she would be featured on Cardi B’s single “WAP,” which became her second number one hit. But just as her star was on the rise, she was (allegedly) shot in both feet by Canadian rapper Torey Lanez on July 15. Lanez denied the allegations and has engaged in a lengthy public smear campaign, claiming Megan and her team are trying to frame him for the crime.

Despite all this, she finally released her debut album Good News in November 2020. While the opening track, “Shots Fired,” boldly addressed Lanez, the rest of the record showed Megan putting herself above the murky drama and just doing her.

In that regard, her surprise sophomore album Traumazine stands very much apart from her debut. Here, Megan unloads on all of the people helping Lanez in his public crusade against her. This shift in attitude also opens Megan to criticize everything she doesn’t like in the rap scene, patriarchal society, and even herself, all with that same confident, rapid-fire flow that made her famous.

Like on her debut, Traumazine opens with a direct shot at the target of her frustrations with “NDA.” This time, instead of directly aiming at Torey, she lobs hits at all of his flying monkeys in his legal team and the media. She makes clear she’s fed up with playing nice and delivers some pretty direct threats:

Sick of bein’ humble, ’cause you bitches don’t respect that
And the next one of y’all hoes wanna get bold, I’m gon’ check that
And the next one of y’all blogs wanna spread lies, I’m gon’ sue you
And the next bitch that break my NDA, that go for you too.

“Not Nice” fires more shots at undisclosed broke haters, talking up her own net worth while claiming these people are more focused on her than their own children. She also lets loose on men in the music industry, denigrating her while trying to take credit for her success:

I guess my skin not light enough, my dialect not white enough
Or maybe I’m just not shaped the way to make these n***as givе a fuck.

That bravado sometimes falls away, though, like on “Anxiety,” where Megan confesses that “bad bitches have bad days, too.” Her treatment of mental health, while definitely brave territory for her, is treated a bit surface level. However, I felt very compelled by the second verse, where she describes talking to her late mother:

If I could write a letter to Heaven
I would tell my mama that I shoulda been listenin’
And I would tell her sorry that I really been wildin’
And ask her to forgive me, ’cause I really been tryin’.

Despite Megan’s strong delivery on nearly every track, production and songwriting issues dog several tracks on this record. The verses and production on “Her” hit the nail on the head, but the writing on the chorus is pretty lazy and lands on my ear completely wrong.

Meanwhile, “Scary” delivers top-notch performances from both Megan and Rico Nasty, but the Halloween-style production on the track cheapens it from top to bottom.

The last questionable choice comes in the album’s closing track, “Sweetest Pie.” Featuring Dua Lipa, this was a big single before the album came out, so its inclusion here is no surprise. Thematically, though, its retro dance vibe feels out of place on this darker album of rap and trap.

I’d personally prefer to see the record end with the penultimate track, “Southside Royalty Freestyle.” An ode to Megan’s city of origin, she also brought on three hometown heroes in Sauce Walka, Big Pokey, and Lil’ Keke, who all kill. I love how Sauce Walka manages to take his own shots at people in the rap game that mirror Megan’s from earlier in the record:

H-Town, Splashtown
The most copied and underappreciated city in the game, man
You know it take ten female artist to make a Megan Thee Stallion
And it’s a n***a wanna be Sauce Walker in every record label in America.

I’m glad Megan could include a track like this on her record. It gives us listeners a better sense of her roots, her compatriots, and influences in rap, and it would’ve perfectly concluded this record.

But little errors like this don’t detract from Megan’s talent on full display here. She’s had so much put on her shoulders at a young age, and she’s not only handled it with grace and humor, she’s truly risen above. When she can escape the shadow of controversy, the best of her will flow forth.

Production: 6/10

Lyrics: 7/10

Songwriting: 5/10

Overall: 6/10

Favorites: Not Nice, Anxiety, Southside Royalty Freestyle

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Thank you for reading! What did you think of this album? Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts, and I’ll see you in the next review!