"Traumazine" is the sophomore studio album of American rapper Megan Thee Stallion. It was released August 12th, 2022. The album was released by 300 Entertainment and 1501 Certified. The album was proceeded by 5 singles, released in the respective order stated; "Sweetest Pie", "Plan B", "Pressurelicious", "Her" and "Ungrateful". Upon release, Traumazine received positive reviews from critics, who complimented its production and Megan's flow. It was nominated for the BET Hip Hop Award for Album of the Year. The album's lead single, "Sweetest Pie" with English singer Dua Lipa, peaked at number 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album's low promotion caused a lawsuit between the artist and her former label, 1501.
Background[]
Around 2020, Thee Stallion filed suit against her record label 1501 Certified Entertainment to renegotiate her contract, after her management company Roc Nation found it "iffy". Megan released her compilation album "Something For Thee Hotties", however 1501 did not mark the body of work as a studio album. The label then claimed Thee Stallion would need to release two more albums in addition to the 2021 compilation. On February 18, 2022, Megan filed suit against the label claiming that the compilation respects the definition of an album with at least 45 minutes of material.
In an interview at The 2022 Webby Awards, Megan revealed plans for her second studio album; “I’m probably, like, 95 percent done with my new album, I want to tease that for the Hotties. I haven’t even told them nothing about my album.”[1] On August 10, 2022, Megan wrote to her social media channels about her difficult legal battles with the artist and 1501; "Y’all know I always have problems with dropping my music under this label, all these games and having to go to court just to put out my art has been so stressful. Thank you hotties for rocking with me through the bullshit WE ALMOST OUT LETS STAY FOCUSED AND RUN THIS LAST ONE UP"[2] On August 11, 2022, Megan announced the album with only a day's notice before the album release. She wrote the following in her Instagram post caption: "MY NEW ALBUM TRAUMAZINE IS OUT FRIDAY 🔥🔥🔥PRESAVE IT NOW !!! Link in my bio"[3] Thee Stallion described what the term 'traumazine' meant, "the chemical released in the brain when it is forced to deal with painful emotions caused by traumatic events and experiences". The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 becoming Thee Stallion's fifth US top-10 album, but did not achieve high placements in international charts, starting a lawsuit by the rapper for the label's low interest in its promotion. The album was later certified gold by the RIAA for selling over 500,000 units.
After the second lawsuit following the promotion for Traumazine, a represent for 1501 had confirmed Megan Thee Stallion and the label had parted their ways, following for the artist to open up her independent production company and label record, Hot Girl Productions.
Composition[]
Unlike her 2020 debut, Trauamzine is filled with more dark, richer, and trap beats. Some songs like "Plan B" are inspired by 90's hip-hop and rap. Lyrically, the album is much more personal and up-front than Megan's prior works. The album dicusses topics such as grieve, death, depression and much more personal conflicts. Although the album does contain some empowerment and relationship songs as well. Megan stated about her album, saying; "This album was really personal to me. This is, like, the first time I ever, you know, talked about things that I’m feeling or talked about things that I’m going through. So it kind of made me nervous to write a lot of these songs. It makes me nervous to perform some of these songs. And I was kinda just like, ‘OK, I’mma write this stuff and I’mma just put it out. Hmm, Hotties, what you got to say about this?’".
The album featured severals collaborations from Dua Lipa, Future, and Key Glock, and additional guest appearances from Latto, Pooh Shiesty, Rico Nasty, Jhené Aiko, Lucky Daye, Sauce Walka, Lil' Keke, and Big Pokey.
Promotion[]
The first single was "Sweetest Pie", with English singer Dua Lipa, released on March 11, 2022. The second single was "Plan B", released on April 22, 2022. It was followed by the collaboretion "Pressurelicious" with Future, released on July 21, 2022, and "Her", released three days after the release of the album. The last single was "Ungrateful" featuring American rapper Key Glock, released on September 6, 2022.
Critical reception[]
Traumazine was met with a very positive response from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album has an average score of 80 based on 11 reviews. Time journalist Moises Mendez II wrote that the rapper "alternates between knocking down every obstacle that stands in her way and realizing that some obstacles will take longer to get past than others", adding "with Traumazine, we see her dig deeper into her insecurities", citing the "most gut-wrenching lines in the album", referring to her parents' death. Mendez additionally noted the "dark and ominous" production tone, with lyrical references to the difficult rise for an African American woman in the music industry and the legal battle to dissolve her 1501 Certified record contract. NPR editor Sidney Madden defined the album as a "huge artistic step" because "tracks are offset with deep contemplations about the trauma she's experienced in her life so far and, more pointedly, the double standards in society that black women carry with them when they're objectified". Madden states that it is comparable to a diary in which "she's having a stream of conscious. [...] It's raw. It's real. And it can't be faked". In a more reserved review for AllMusic, Fred Thomas described the album as, "solid but inconsistent, with one foot in formula-tested mainstream rap and the other in a more confessional, emotionally bare territory that's new for Megan Thee Stallion. Despite its occasional unevenness, the album is exciting in both its moments of audience-tested hitmaking and when Megan cracks the veneer of her invincible persona to share feelings that are difficult, messy, and real."
Merchandise[]
$9.98
$44.98-$46.98
$44.98-$46.98
$44.98-$46.98
$44.98-$46.98
$44.98-$46.98
Track listing[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "NDA" | Anthony Holmes, Megan Pete | Hitkidd | 3:21 |
| 2. | "Ungrateful" (featuring Key Glock) | Krishon O’Brien Gaines, Markeyvius Cathey, Megan Pete | Bandplay | 2:34 |
| 3. | "Not Nice" | Daniel Simmons, Duevon Hughes Desir, Megan Pete, Sean Porterfield | D-Sims, P. Raw, SSV | 2:46 |
| 4. | "Budget" (featuring Latto) | Abdallah Ahmad, Jasmine Lanae Ethridge, Joshua Isaiah Parker, Megan Pete, Terence Williams | OG Parker, Romano, Rvei | 3:22 |
| 5. | "Her" | Alex Petit, Kiowa Roukema, Malibu Barbie, Megan Pete, Vaugh Oliver | CashMoney, AP, Malibu Babie, Vaughn Oliver, YoungKio | 2:17 |
| 6. | "Gift & A Curse" | Shane Lindstrom, Joshua Baker, Megan Pete | Murda Beatz | 2:52 |
| 7. | "Ms. Nasty" | Diego Avendano, Joel Banks, Megan Pete, Shawn Jarrett, Taylor Banks | Bankroll Got It, Diego Ave, Shawn “Source” Jarret | 2:12 |
| 8. | "Who Me" (featuring Pooh Shiesty) | Danny Snograss Jr., Joshua Baker, Khan Anthony Edwards, Lontrell Denell Williams Jr., Megan Pete | KTOE, Taz Taylor | 1:58 |
| 9. | "Red Wine" | David Wilson, Ethan Snoreck, Joel Banks, Megan Pete, Shawn Jarrett, Taylor Banks | Bankroll Got It, Shawn “Source” Jarrett, Whethan, dwilly | 2:34 |
| 10. | "Scary" (featuring Rico Nasty) | Avedon, Maria Kelly, Megan Pete, Vincent van der Ende | Avedon | 2:34 |
| 11. | "Anxiety" | Megan Pete | Go Grizzly | 2:15 |
| 12. | "Flip Flop" | Julian Mason, Kelton Lanier Scott II, Kelvin Bradshaw, Lloyd “Spec” Turner, Megan Pete, Timothy Arthur Hoyle, Walter “Mucho” Scott, William A Aquart Jr | FranchiseDidIt, LilJuMadeDaBeat | 2:08 |
| 13. | "Consistency" (featuring Jhené Aiko) | Christopher Jasper, Ernest Isley, Jhene Aiko Chilombo, Marcus Hodge, Marvin Isley, Megan Pete, O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley, Uforo Ebong | Bongo ByTheWay | 3:40 |
| 14. | "Star" (featuring Lucky Daye) | Anthony Jermaine White, Corvell Arteberry, David Brown, Megan Pete | J. White | 3:30 |
| 15. | "Pressurelicious" (featuring Future) | Payday, Anthony Holmes, Harald Hjermann Sørebø, Jorden Thorpe, Megan Pete, Nayvadius Wilburn | Hitkidd, Payday | 2:53 |
| 16. | "Plan B" | Dalvin Degrate, Donald Degrate, Megan Pete, Omar Perrin, Robert Watson | Omar Grand, Rob Holladay | 2:44 |
| 17. | "Southside Royalty Freestyle" (featuring Sauce Walka, Big Pokey, Lil Keke & Mike D) | Albert Mondane, Chris Jasper, Ernest Isley, Jordan Houston, Leroy Williams, Marcus Edwards, Marvin Isley, Megan Pete, Michael Dixon, Milton Powell Jr., O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley | Juicy J, Mr. Lee | 4:03 |
| 18. | "Sweetest Pie" (with Dua Lipa) | Clarence Coffee Jr., Dua Lipa, Nija Aisha-Alayja Charles, John Walsh Homen, Joshua Isaiah Parker, Megan Pete, Oscar Leo-Christensen, Sarah Hudson, Stephen Kozmeniuk | OG Parker, Romano, Platinum Libraries | 3:21 |
| Total length: | 51:04 | |||
References[]
| Traumazine | |
|---|---|
| August 12, 2022 • 51:05 • 1501 Certified • 300 Entertainment | |
| Songs | |
| NDA • Ungrateful • Not Nice • Budget • Her • Gift & A Curse • Ms. Nasty • Who Me • Red Wine • Scary • Anxiety • Flip Flop • Consistency • Star • Pressurelicious • Plan B • Southside Royalty Freestyle • Sweetest Pie | |
| Artists | |
| Megan Thee Stallion • Key Glock • Latto • Pooh Shiesty • Rico Nasty • Jhené Aiko • Lucky Daye • Future • Sauce Walka • Lil Keke • Big Pokey • Mike D | |
| Other | |
| Gallery • Videos | |