Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Traumazine’ Is a Needful Reminder That Bad Bitches Have Bad Days Too

It’s been a difficult few years for Megan Thee Stallion. In 2019, she lost her beloved mother to a brain tumor, then just two weeks later, her grandmother passed away. Smack dab in the middle of summer that following year, famously 5’3 rapper, Tory Lanez, opened fire on the reigning queen of rap following an argument. Ever since, she’s become the subject of a coordinated social media campaign, publicly pilloried by Lanez’s fans and forced to navigate an onslaught of accusations that she’d fabricated the account. As if all of that weren’t enough to wane a woman’s backbone, Stallion is currently embroiled in legal battles with both Lanez, and her label, 1501 Certified, who she’s accused of exploitation and sabotage.

Though she has an enviable way of making the load appear light, her new album, “Traumazine,” lets listeners in on how heavy it’s been all this time. And despite the level of superstardom wherein she resides, Stallion’s latest feels like it’s for everyone just doing what they can to get by and cultivate a little joy along the way. Given recent remarks, it’s safe to say that this is precisely the sensation Stallion sought to achieve.

“Writing this album, I treated it more like writing in my diary than actually trying to put together a song,” she confided to Jimmy Fallon while co-hosting The Tonight Show earlier this week. “I just want to talk about how I really feel and get more personal, because I feel like everybody knows me, and they have like a perception of me, based on, probably, what other people say or what they see on the internet or, you know, just something that’s probably not me at all. And I feel like this time around, I wanted to, like, let everybody in my head and, like, you know, form their own opinion based off of my story. I wanted to take control of my own narrative.”

Stallion spends 18 tracks doing just that, vacillating between a previously untapped vulnerability and the come-hither cockiness that has cemented her as a fixture in the industry. On the opening track, “NDA,” Stallion hints at recent headlines—namely, her legal battles with Tory Lanez, and her label, 1501 Entertainment—and laments about having to “stay busy” in spite of betrayal and exploitation. But before she settles too squarely in her feelings, she reminds us she’s still got a sense of humor: “Matter fact, wait, stop, bitch, I really rap/I be quick to check you pussy bitches like a pap.”

In letting listeners cozy up a little closer to the emcee, Stallion also releases a deeply relatable rage, directed at a range of people—from the public on “Who Me,” (I feel like Biggie, who shot you?/But everybody know who shot me, bitch), to anyone that dare cross her on “Not Nice,” (I’m on my fuck you shit, Bitch, I’m done being nice) to the Supreme Court and the suits in Washington D.C. on “Gift & a Curse,” (My mother-fucking body, My choice). An unequivocal standout, however, is “Anxiety,” a track that pays homage to Stallion’s “favorite ho,” Marilyn Monroe, not to mention Britney Spears and Whitney Houston. Beyond the mentions, “Anxiety” is exactly as it sounds—an anthem for anyone going through it: “All I really wanna hear is “It’ll be okay / Bounce back ‘Cause a bad bitch can have bad days.”

Yet, the album, despite its title—which Stallion defined in an Instagram post as “the chemical released in the brain when it is forced to deal with painful emotions caused by traumatic events and experiences”—leaves room for some relief. Stallion is joined by Rico Nasty on “Scary,” which evokes The Twilight Zone and sees Stallion anointing herself a “thick-thigh nightmare,” aka a moniker that will soon become the bio of thousands on every social media platform. Latto also makes an appearance on “Budget,” which will surely accompany many a TikTok in the months to come.

Longtime listeners won’t meet a new Stallion on “Traumazine,” but in sneaking a peek at her diary, they’ll get something better: the knowledge that regardless of how distant her rising star might feel, she’s not all that different from them.