THE ANNOUNCEMENT
On April 22nd, when Megan Thee Stallion announced her social media hiatus to "recharge" and that all future posts will be handled by management; the world stopped. OK, I may have exaggerated that last part, but across all social media platforms: Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, etc., the one question on everyone's mind was "WHY? - wHy? - Whyyyyyy?"
Even though Megan kept working after the passing of her mama, grandmother, being shot, becoming a target of STANs, while still managing to top the charts and win 3 Grammys - taking a break to avoid possible burnout just wasn't a sexy enough story. Soon, the know-it-alls, attention whores, conspiracy theorists, and "Sources" started pushing their preferred narratives to the curious public.
The Know It All: Megan is getting surgery. Watch she will look like a whole new person when she returns.
The Attention Whore: Megan is hiding because Tory's court date is coming up, and she'll be proven a liar.
The Conspiracy Theorist: Megan said she was "recharging." That means she has to be reprogrammed in Illuminati talk
The Source: I know someone who has a cousin whose boyfriend's sister works at a hospital. Megan is in rehab under the fake name Megan Thee Pony.
While people entertain themselves with the "Why?" of this story, two weeks into her hiatus, I find myself fascinated by "How" Megan is pulling off this social media break. She is low-key, creating the blueprint for how rappers should handle hiatuses.
HIATUS HOTTIE
Besides the narratives being pushed for clicks and views, there were some well-founded debates about the hiatus. Would Megan lose her momentum? Would her hotties stick with her or switch to a sea of other girls vying for fans? Would anybody care?
It appears Megan's team had the same concerns and was wise enough not to leave her momentum in the hands of the media, put undue pressure on the Hotties, or get lulled into the false belief that Megan can't fall off this soon. This hiatus was planned and curated to allow Megan to "recharge" while making fans and haters feel like Megan never left. I can hear Desiree right now, "We Did It, Jay!"
The running joke is, "Megan does not know how to go on a hIaTus," which proves Megan's hiatus strategy
is working. The joke was made after noticing Megan is still dropping and promoting collaborations, appearing in music videos, charting, and getting RIAA certified plaques. Her hiatus also perfectly coincides with the return of her hit HBO Max show, Legendary. The show premiered Thursday, and ET ran an interview she did to promote the second season the same day. Megan also announced her new Snapchat show 'Off Thee Leash." Don't forget, Meg is also still posting promos for her brand deals.
People expected Meg's hiatus to mirror that of another rapper, but Megan shows you can be offline and still feed your fans. Megan is accomplishing all this while probably laying in her bed watching anime through the magic of PRE-RECORDINGS. Shhhh...don't tell anybody.
While Megan's hiatus style is far from new, it's a method we don't see many rappers utilize. I estimate that Megan Thee Stallion will not return until around July when the festivals begin. If her team can continue to make it seem like she never left until then, I think this should be the blueprint other rappers follow when they just need a break (looking at you JT).
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Anyway. I feel like Megan should’ve been fell back. Artists that come up on social media risk over-saturating themselves early in their careers if they post too much. I hope that Megan remain lowkey when she start back posting again. Rap girls who are unhappy with their careers have been using her as target practice. When Megan’s 2 recent features dropped blogs was posting these girls. Now the same blogs are back to paying the girls dust since it’s back quiet on Megan’s side now Lol. When she returns I want Megan to not over share her relationship with Pardi which to me benefits him more. It’s a come up for him not her. Stay off live unless she’s promotin…
Chile didn’t Nicki just like and unlike a post 2 weeks back? She’s still on social media and BEEN on just like everyone else that announce their taking a social media break.
I agree with you. I don’t see Megan returning until festival time. She’s suppose to finish college this year as well.