"Girls in the Hood" is a song by American rapper Megan Thee Stallion from her debut studio album, Good News (2020). It was released on June 26, 2020, through 1501 Certified Entertainment and 300 Entertainment as the album's lead single. The song was written by Megan, Bobby Sessions, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ilyah Fraser, and Scott Storch with production from the latter two. Built around a sample of "Boyz-n-the-Hood" by Eazy-E, it is a hip hop song with braggadocious lyrics.
The song received positive reviews from music critics, some of whom praised it for repurposing what they believed to be misogynoir in "Boyz-n-the-Hood" into an anthem for women. "Girls in the Hood" peaked at number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and at number 3 on the Deutsche Black Charts. It was certified platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA). A lyric video for the song was released on June 26, 2020. To promote the song, Megan performed it at the BET Awards 2020 and as part of a virtual concert for Tidal that same year.
Background and release[]
The release date of "Girls in the Hood" was announced on June 24, 2020 as June 26 via Megan Thee Stallion's social media accounts. On June 26, 2020, prior to the song's official release, Megan teased the song with a video clip posted to Instagram of her twerking in a sundress. After the song was teased, American rapper Reemarkable, daughter of Eazy-E, spoke out regarding Megan Thee Stallion sampling "Boyz-n-the-Hood" since, according to her, she and his other children were barred from allowing recreation or sampling of. The song was released on June 26, 2020. The cover for the single features Megan in a pink paisley bra with a pink fuzzy hood and hoop earrings. Merchandise for the song was created by black female artists; Megan boasted that she "can't wait for y'all to see it". A lyric video for "Girls in the Hood" was released on June 26, 2020, and features a "colorful" compilation of pictures, videos, and animations of Megan, including the rapper flexing her body.
Composition[]
"Girls in the Hood" is a hip hop song which heavily samples Eazy-E's 1987 song "Boyz-n-the-Hood", putting a "modern" spin on it. Its instrumental includes electric guitar.
Lyrically, the song mainly consists of braggadocious, self-asserted one-liners, including the song's opening line, "Fuck being good, I'm a bad bitch/I'm sick of motherfuckers trying tell me how to live". Kyann-Sian Williams of NME surmised that the lyrics were from the perspective of Megan's pimp alter ego, Tina Snow. Several lyrics were directly inspired by Eazy-E's original lyrics. She also references her love of anime as well as the Japanese manga series Naruto in the song.
Critical reception[]
"Girls in the Hood" received critical acclaim. Pitchfork gave "Girls in the Hood" the title of "Best New Track", with Sheldon Pearce remarking that the song repurposes the misogynoir of "Boyz-n-the-Hood" "for those it disenfranchised", adding, "It feels like Megan is leading a revolt of the women mistreated in rap songs." GQ's Olive Pometsey similarly commented on the misogynoir in "Boyz-n-the-Hood", writing, "Megan flipped the switch and turned it into a song that gives power back to women." For All Songs Considered, NPR's Sidney Madden also wrote about the misogynoir in "Boyz-n-the-Hood" and praised Megan for using "venomous, crushing one-liners" to "stomp out and shrivel up every last shred of male ego frailty."
Kyann-Sian Williams of NME gave the song a rating of four out of five stars, calling the song a "banger" with "cocksure attitude" and writing, "The larger-than-life braggadocio is what we all love Megan for, and it's in abundance on this single." Chuck Arnold of New York Post named "Girls in the Hood" the number one "song of the summer", referring to it as a "rock-edged banger". Billboard's Jason Lipshutz called the single "a distinctive anthem for [Megan] and for women everywhere" and "a fresh showcase for her skills", calling her wordplay "top-notch" and her punchlines "unexpected". Consequence of Sound's Nina Corcoran wrote, "Megan Thee Stallion makes the music into something memorable by turning rapid-fire verses into a straight-up vocal flex, flaunting her skills not just as a rapper, but as a musical artist who continues to climb the charts."
Live performances[]
Megan gave her debut live performance of the song at the BET Awards 2020 on June 28, 2020, in a medley with "Savage (Remix)". The Mad Max-inspired performance took place in the desert, and showed Megan riding an ATV and wearing feathers. The performance was named the third best music video of June 2020 by Pitchfork's Eric Torres, who wrote, "In under five minutes, she sets the bar for any virtual awards show performances that dare follow," regarding it as the best performance of the night. During Megan's first virtual live concert on August 29, 2020, which was streamed on Tidal, she performed the song for a second time.
Personnel[]
Credits adapted from Tidal.
- Megan Thee Stallion – vocals, songwriting
- IllaDaProducer – production, songwriting
- Scott Storch – production, songwriting
- Bobby Sessions – songwriting
- Dr. Dre – songwriting
- Eazy-E – songwriting
- Ice Cube – songwriting
- Shawn "Source" Jarrett – engineering
- Jaycen Joshua – mixing
- Colin Leonard – mastering
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