Traumazine, Megan Thee Stallion (7/10)

Meg did a surprise drop of her latest album, Traumazine, last Friday (8/12/22) while I was on a trip - so just got around to listening today. Although I didn't actually love 2/3 of the album, I really do gotta say that Megan has to be one of, if not the best rapper alive today. I'd argue that Kanye may be a better musician in sum, but I think her actual rapping is unmatched (maybe Kendrick?). She just is so fucking good, and that's something that I can appreciate even in the songs I don't love. For example, in "Anxiety," she talks about her struggles with mental illness and in "Drip Drop" her grief over her mother; and her lyricism combined with her ability to just spit verses is so fuckin wild. I think the album started off really strong, and I liked the first four songs a lot, but after that it devolved a bit for me. Megan's baseline is still very good, and there was no song that I did not enjoy listening to, but there were only a few that I saved/put on playlists/really went off imo. The cast of features is also pretty crazy on this album from Jhene Aiko coming out of the woodworks to Future to Latto to Dua Lipa to Rico Nasty and more. It's a solid album with a few bangers, and I really enjoyed the diversity of both sounds and content (there's a lot of sexual songs but then also some really earnest ones). She's such a talented musician and my expectations are so high that even when she disappoints (which I'm not saying she necessarily did here), it's still pretty damn good. Favorite tracks: Not Nice, Budget (feat. Latto), Plan B