Within the album’s running time of 50 minutes, every nanosecond was utilized, overflowing with fierce wordplay and thumping beats that you can’t get out of your head. Thee Stallion embodied the phrase “go hard or go home” by having over 14 producers and 10 features on this debut. The features included DaBaby, City Girls, Lil Durk, SZA, Popcaan, Mustard, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Beyonce and Young Thug.

Needless to say, with so much talent being hands-on for “Good News,” each song was certainly expected to be impressive. Out of the 17 songs, the most noteworthy were “Shots Fired”, “Crybaby” featuring DaBaby, “Girls In The Hood” and “Savage Remix” featuring Beyonce.

“Good News” made an unforgettable entrance as soon as the first song, “Shots Fired,” began. Rapping over the sample of the iconic Notorious B.I.G’s “Who Shot Ya,” Megan addressed her situation of being shot in July of 2020. A standout jab from this was, “…and if it weren’t for me, same week you would have been indicted.” Thee Stallion later addressed this particular line, stating that she did not want to immediately tell the police who shot her due to her fear of police brutality. Megan also referenced the shooting in another song on the debut, Circles, saying “Bullet wounds, backstabs, mama died, still sad.”

“Girls In The Hood” was a standout song due to similar reasons as “Who Shot Ya”, sampling icon Eazyz-E’s “Boyz-n-the-Hood.” Thee Stallion paid homage to this classic in her own way by flipping the narrative to reclaiming her authority, causing fragile egos to tremble.

DaBaby is no stranger to working with Megan, and the duo returned once again for the hit “Crybaby.” The power pair went bar for bar, interchanging the lines  “Her friends and her mom hate me” and “His friends and his dad hate me.” The playful track was a perfect suit for the two’s reunion.

The “Savage Remix” not only left its mark on the album but left its mark at the Grammys as well, winning the 2021 Best Rap Performance along with the Best Rap Song. The song escalated from becoming a viral TikTok dance trend all the way to blossoming as Thee Stallion’s first Grammy wins, and her first number one on the U.S Billboard hot 100. The Houston natives brought the “Beyhive” and the “Hotties” together in a powerful union.

Since its release, “Good News” has marked the charts for heavy-hitters such as Billboard, Complex, Los Angeles Times, and Rolling Stone, ranking within the 50 best albums of 2020 for each.

“Good News” undeniably symbolizes a victory lap for Megan Thee Stallion after a past year of enduring many unfortunate circumstances. Megan used the rocks that were thrown at her to build her stepping stones, all while effortlessly dropping rhymes that made listeners’ jaws drop. The success of this debut album is certainly the “good news” to read all about.

The post Nothing But “Good News” For Megan Thee Stallion appeared first on The Forum.

On the day of its’ release, “What’s Next” debuted at #1 on US iTunes, #1 on US Spotify, #1 on Apple Music US and had over 360K first week US sales. “Wants and Needs” featuring Lil Baby is the second single from the three-track EP and it debuted at  #9 on US iTunes, #2 on US Spotify, #7 on Apple Music US and had over 305K first week US sales.  The third single from the EP is “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” featuring Rick Ross and it debuted #12 on US iTunes, #11 on US Spotify, #3 on Apple Music US and had over 230K first week US sales. 

On March 15, Drake made history by becoming the first music artist to occupy the top 5 spots on the Hot 100 Billboard charts. This is a major accomplishment; Drake is one of the three artists on the planet to ever have songs in the top three spots on the Hot 100 charts. “What’s Next” debuted at No.1, “Wants and Needs” featuring Lil Baby debuted at No.2 and “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” featuring Rick Ross debuted at No.3. “What’s Next” is Drake’s eighth number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and his twenty-fourth number one on the US iTunes charts. 

By looking at Drake’s stats, it’s obvious why his industry peers are delaying their projects and scared of what’s next to come. In just 10 days, Drake made history,  achieved over 895K pure sales and accumulated over 170 million streams. If Drake can make history in less than 20 days with a three-track EP, what do you think he can do with a full body of work? Scary sight isn’t it? While speaking on OVO Sound Radio, Drake mentioned that “Certified Lover Boy” is on the way stating that, “ I don’t have an exact date, but it’s in the pot and it’s coming soon.”

Enjoy ‘Scary Hours 2’ and stay tuned to see what Drake does next!

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Conway The Machine recently dropped the LULU with legendary producer The Alchemist.

As one third of the rap group, Griselda with Westside Gunn and Benny The Butcher, the group blew up as they dropped three separate projects as well as a group album.

LULU is based on the cocaine dealer Luis “Lulu” Lujano from the cult classic “Paid In Full.” The character Lulu throughout the movie rarely comes out of his apartment, but he wears the nicest clothes and hauls the purest cocaine in the Harlem Neighborhood. Conway The Machine has very similar characteristics as they both are visible only when they want to be.

 The project LULU is a seven song EP that is entirely produced by The Alchemist with features from ScHoolboy Q and Cormega. The EP was released on March 30. With “Shoot Sideways” that features ScHoolboy Q as the promotional single for the EP. The cover for the EP is a Great White Shark coming out the water. In a sense, it reminded me of how Ruthless Conway is on the mic.

Though I enjoyed and replayed the entire project, it was three standout tracks that I go back and play over and over again. The tracks are “14 KI’s,” “Shoot Sideways” (featuring ScHoolboy Q), and “Calvin.” 

“14 KI’s” was basically the first song on the EP (other than the intro, which was a voiceover from the movie “Paid in Full”) was about Conway pushing narcotics (most notably cocaine). Conway The Machine describes “moving weight” by using vivid lines like “I keep my gun in perfect condition, machine get dirty like Ben Wallace puttin’ work for the Pistons” and “Gettin’ money, that’s what I do often, I get treated like I’m the big ticket when I’m movin’ through Boston.” The ending of the song was a sample from 1973 crime drama movie “The Mack.”  The instrumental on the song was very dark and menacing and the lyrics throughout the song mesh very well. 

“Shoot Sideways” was the promotional single and the fourth for the EP. The song was all about how Conway and ScHoolboy Q are commiting acts of violence like murder. Lines like “Comin’ at me, you better get your ratchet, my lil’ shooter like A.I but he been missin’ practice, but he scorin’ on the opps and he still hittin’ baskets” and “Try to slide, you gon’ die, you know the outcome, before I got signed or dropped a album, I was in the trap, draco by the blinds like Malcolm.” Though I feel like he should’ve had a verse, ScHoolboy Q delivered a haunting hook which ties the song together. The instrumental of this track was simply fitting with the song itself, like the beat was very boom-bap and very refreshing. 

“Calvin” is The fifth track and probably my favorite track out of the top three of this project. This song also showed Conway a different flow than the previous songs that are mentioned. In this song, Conway talks about being the big homie. Lines like “I’m the big homie, I just make a call, don’t gotta pick up a finger at all, when it’s a issue, I hit up my dawg, bigger the gun, the harder they fall” and “N**** should be paying me homage, be in them trenches, I’m straight from the bottom, dropped out of school, never made it through college, I got in the game and I made a few commas” help illustrate him being the big homie and how he operates. The instrumental was very dark and gritty, but the unusual trap flow that Conway uses in the song fits the beat perfectly. 

Overall, The EP “LULU” was pretty good. every song fit the theme of the EP and it wasn’t too repetitive. The transitions through the EP was pretty smooth with the help of certain samples from movies like “The Mack” and “Paid in Full” and mixing from legendary producers ‘“The Alchemist.” Instrumental wise, The Alchemist was at the top of his game with the dark, murky and menacing beats throughout the project. Though I enjoyed the entire project, The songs “14 KI’s,” Shoot Sideways,“ and”Calvin “ were all standouts on the album due to the subject matter, instrumental use, and the lyrics.

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K. Michelle shows that she is true to R&B on her fifth studio album, All Monsters Are Human. This album was released on Jan. 31, following the release of her top 10 albums Kimberly: The People I Used to Know.

She is one of the few artists who rose to fame as a reality star on VH1’s hit show “Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta”. She’s always been an advocate for staying true to herself and writing music that is true to her life experiences. 

Social media played a big part in the making of All Monsters Are Human. She regularly used Instagram and its live streams to connect to her fans while recording the songs for her highly anticipated album. During this album cycle, fans got a chance to get an inside look at her creative process. 

“I have a different motto. I don’t believe you leave your fans waiting, I believe you let them hear and you see how they react,” K. Michelle said in a behind-the-scenes clip on Instagram.

The lead single, The Rain, was the first song that fans gravitated to. It samples the 1988 hit Can You Stand The Rain, originally recorded by R&B male group New Edition. Even though the original song is about a relationship standing the test of times, K.Michelle spices up her version by singing about her sexual experiences. 

The cover art of the album is not like any other cover art that she has had on her previous albums. There is a connection between the design and composition of the cover art and the title of the album. A theme of duality and good versus evil is present throughout the work.

Michelle said she believes that there is a monster in everyone and that is why she named her album All Monsters Are Human.

“Everybody is a villain to somebody. In somebody’s story, you’re not an angel so all monsters are human. We all have been hurt and hurt,” K. Michelle said during a radio interview with The Morning Hustle. 

Michelle heavily touches on relationships and everything that comes with them; the good, the bad and the ugly.  She sits down and writes songs that stem from real-life experiences. Topics on this album include love, sex, infidelity, heartbreak and revenge.

On this album, she has songs that are lyrically driven, like Can’t Let (You Get Away) and Just Like Jay. One song that lyrically stands out on the album is The Worst. She sings: “I know she comes first and that’s the part that hurts, boy loving you is the worst.” 

In an Instagram post, she explained that there can be a situation where a guy moves on after a breakup but a woman can still have love for him. Seeing a man that you’ve spent time with being a better man for another woman could hurt. Even though there isn’t a relationship anymore, you’ve created memories together.

This is the type of music that K. Michelle has been making since she entered the music industry. Throughout her discography, it is safe to say that she is a fan of creating real R&B music. This album puts a confirmation on the statement that R&B is not dead. 

Other songs like Love on Me and Supahood give the album an uptempo and light vibe to complement the heartfelt songs that reign throughout the album.

All Monsters Are Human has received good feedback since its debut. Her honesty and vulnerability connect with fans on a personal level. Due to her undeniable talent and solid fanbase, the album hit the number one R&B album in the country with over 20 million streams.

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