Megan Thee Stallion dropped a nine-song EP for her hotties in anticipation of the May album release.

By Nyasha Drakes

Megan Thee Stallion dropped her latest project, Suga, and it already feels like summer. The 25-year-old Houston hottie gave us a bite-sized record full of freestyles and sexually explicit lyrics.  With nine songs and a runtime of 24 minutes, it’s an easy listen at the gym or a pregame with the girls. This is her third EP after 2017’s Make It Hot and 2018’s Tina Snow, and follows her 2019 album Fever. It features producers other than her longtime friend, LilJuMadeDaBeat like Pharrel Williams and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes. It’s an upbeat sampler before her actual album drops in May.

This project is our first introduction to her new alter-ego, Suga, the more vulnerable side of Thee Stallion. It's hard not to wonder if Suga, Tina Snow, and Hot Girl Meg will all interact in the future album. She alludes to this in the single, B.I.T.C.H., when Tina Snow reminds Thee Stallion of who she is. Though she is normally cocky, she too can be sad and imperfect. 

Meg looks on the bright side in “Crying In The Car”, produced by the Neptunes. It shows a softer side of the naturally self-assured rap artist. In the chorus she sings, “Please don't give up on me, Lord, Lord/ Promise to keep goin' hard, hard/All of them nights that I cried in the car/ All them tears turned into ice on my arms.” It’s public knowledge that she lost her mother and grandmother in March of 2019 but she never let that stop her. Even after her label, 1501 Certified Entertainment, tried to block the release of Suga, her headstrong attitude and unwavering confidence continue to get her through this fight. The EP’s release signified her legal team is actually doing the work to #FreeTheStallion.

“Stop Playing” featuring ATL’s trap artist, Gunna, is a Neptunes produced banger. This record is a reminder to all the salty competition that Gunna and Thee Stallion will forever be unphased. Pharrell and Hugo produced a slow-moving beat that lets the wordplay of the braggadocious duo shine. 

“Hit My Phone” featuring Kehlani is a groovy party anthem for the girls. It’s perfect for when you’re in the club and the 1942 sets in just as you draft your risky texts for the night. Admit it, we’ve all wanted a little company on a Saturday and Meg is not shy about it all. She reinforces her sex-positive attitude in “Captain Hook,” about what she wants in a man. Easily a fan favorite, according to all the Instagram and Twitter mentions, this one is sure to make you twerk.

Speaking of twerking, “Rich” and “Savage” are two energetic tracks. “Rich” is a boisterous lyrical playground. The beat makes it sound like she’s up to no good as she raps about her millions. Thee Stallion wants women to have just as much agency as men. In “Savage,” she raps “I would never trip on a n*gga if I had him/ B*tch, that's my trash, you the maid, so you bagged him, ah.” Rappers like Future devalue women in the same way and Meg just levels the playing field like Lil’ Kim and Nicki Minaj who came before her. Being heavily influenced by Pimp C and UGK, her verses are raunchy and assertive. But her freaky freestyles are not an invitation for weirdos, like G-Eazy when he posted videos cuddling and kissing her neck. She just wants to have fun and thinks young women should too. 

Her hotties are loving the album and though it’s full of hits, it’s not the project for the first-time listener. New fans should revisit her older mixtapes and extended plays like Fever (2019) and Tina Snow (2017). Not only do the albums hold her biggest hits like, “Hot Girl Summer” and “Cash Shit” which both went platinum and “Big Ole Freak” that went gold, they show her creativity as an artist. Her creations tell stories of her climb to fame, adventures as a young stallion, and introduces her alter egos. Personally, I think we could get songs that involve the personalities rapping together but we won’t know until May.

Suga is a musical hors d'oeuvre. It was a surprise when it was released on all streaming platforms. So if the EP is just a taste of the upcoming album, then we’re in for another Hot Girl Summer (cue Ty Dolla $ign). 

Listen to Suga here.