Why Megan Thee Stallion's next album is the most important of her career

On Monday (February 5), Megan Thee Stallion scored her first unaccompanied Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with her scathing track “Hiss”. After a lukewarm response to her 2023 single 'Cobra', the Houston hottie curled up and slammed her competitors. The lyrical assault not only sealed Megan a necessary tally in the hip-hop community's win column but also her third No. 1 following 2020's “Savage (Remix)” featuring Beyonce and Cardi B “WAP “. With momentum building in Megan's direction, her upcoming album will be the most crucial chapter in her story.

This album is vital for Megan as she can finally move on from the Tory Lanez saga, with the plumbing hitmaker's fate sealed after being sentenced to 10 years for the shooting in 2020. The turmoil from the attack clouded her Meg's ability to move past drama quickly, as social media often mocked her and, in some cases, took Lanez's side in the public drama. Although Meghan has enjoyed a prolific year since the incident, which has earned her three Grammys, including Best New Artist, she's probably yet to hit her career peak.

From her acclaimed work in 2020 Good news, Megan hasn't put together a terrific string of songs that fans and critics love. What's more, she's yet to lock down her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 — despite getting close Good news, which bowed at No. 2. Her next album, 2022's Traumatazinedebuted at No. 4, with 63,000 album-equivalent units, showing a slide from Good news which was previously 100,000 two years earlier. Tramaucine Singles including “Pressurelicious” with Future also missed the mark, as did her follow-up records “Her” and “Ungrateful.” “Sweetest Pie,” her joint effort with Dua Lipa, was a radio hit, but it wasn't enough to move the needle for Megan, spending just two weeks on the Streaming Songs chart.

Megan returned the following year and released “Cobra,” which debuted at No. 32 on the Hot 100 and disappeared the following week. She and Cardi met a similar fate when they reunited for “Bongos”: Debuting and peaking at No. 14 on the Hot 100, the song failed to gain the same traction as its predecessor, “WAP,” in 2020. Even when he turned back to the pop lane with Renée Rapp for their Bad Girls record “Not My Fault,” the song has yet to reach the Hot 100. Megan's distractions seemed to get the best of her: From the Tory Lanez saga to her fall With former beauty Pardison Fontaine in her legal dealings with her former record label, 1501 Entertainment, her attention has been too divided to capitalize on her wins and regain her former momentum.

For Megan, her edgy attitude and nondescript behavior is why hip-hop has fallen beyond its reach. Before 2020, the Tina Snow The MC killed every feature she touched with her rough raps and hard hitting delivery. “Hiss” landed so well because Megan showed she could step back into that hungry rhyme-slinger with heavy haymakers. If she can keep this energy going and sprinkle her signature on other bangers, she can easily get her career back on track with her next album. Already, Meg could have another big hit, after teasing a new song featuring 41's Kyle Rich, which sounds promising.

It would also be great if she opened her arms and collaborated with faster rising female rappers. On Traumatazine, Meg collaborated with Latto on “Budget,” proving that she has no problem collaborating with other female MCs. Since she also likes to work with pop acts, she can call on a hybrid like Doja Cat, who can serve up bars and vocals on a platter, amplifying the track's appeal. All in all, if Meg can walk the tightrope of making hits with catchy rhymes, she should have no trouble overturning challengers. Even in efforts to get fans excited again, it would be great to see her return to notable freestyle tracks like LA Leakers and somewhere new like On the Radar to show that even when she's in the mainstream light, she can back to hip-hop staples just as quickly. To cap those efforts, to live up to her Hot Girl moniker, a summer release timed with a tour would work well given that she has yet to dominate that season as she would have liked before.

Meg has to surrender the next round because she loses ground on the spot. Her main rival recently, Nicki Minaj, doesn't have much to prove, with her career already established, especially after scoring another No.1 album with Pink Friday 2 last fall. Months later, he still has two Pink Friday 2 songs that still remain on the Hot 100 (“Everybody” and “FTCU”) and is gearing up to kick off her arena-led world tour. Meanwhile, frequent collaborator Cardi B has found a different path to recent relevance, putting her remix stamp on underground hits like GloRilla's “Tomorrow” and FendiDa Rappa's “Point Me to the Slut's” and helping to become mainstream.

In addition to the booming Nicki and Cardi, Meghan must also be aware of the rise of up-and-coming rappers who have broken out while struggling to find her footing over the past two years. Latto is finally on her groove, performing as both a cerebral MC and a Hot 100 mainstay, scoring a hit on the follow-up to 2022's “Big Energy” with the piercing (and Cardi-assisted) “Put It on the Floor Again.” and also scoring Hot 100 No. 1 with her guest appearance on Jung Kook's smash 'Seven'. Ice Spice is also knocking on the door of superstardom after an impressive two years, including four top 10 hits on the Hot 100 and four Grammy nominations in the past year. Flo Milli is finally putting things together and is enjoying a career-best run with her current Top 20 Hot 100 single “Never Lose Me.”

To Megan's credit, she remains a household name in music and is thriving as a businessperson, especially in the world of television and entertainment. Hosted SNL and made a cameo in it Bad Girls, Dicks: The Musical, and Marvel TV series SheHulk. She also secured a first-look deal with Netflix, fully crystalizing her desire to be a multi-platform entertainment star.

While these wins are great, Megan, at her core, is a knocker, which can enter any crypto and bulldoze the center. Now that she's forging her own as an independent artist with the help of Warner Music for distribution and retaining ownership of her masters — a feat rarely seen by a female rapper under 30. And once the post-'Hiss frenzy dies down, she shouldn't to have any more distractions. He hasn't toured since 2019 and is consistently graced by artists with less name recognition on festival lineups. She has the catalog, stage presence and charisma to make her a worthy headliner, so it's important for her to restore her big-dog cred in hip-hop this year.

For Meg, the ball is in her court and all she has to do is show up and dominate the way we've always dreamed she could on album number three. But she better do it soon, or she risks letting a golden opportunity to change the conversation completely in her final years.