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The numbers are in, and Megan Thee Stallion's sophomore album "Traumazine" will debut at #3 on Hits Daily Double with 66K sales (10K pure). , while Billboard doing their alternative mathing has Megan at #4 with 63K.
Ok, now, get it all out of your systems...FLOP, FLOPITY-FLOP, FLOPIANA, FLOPICILOUS...FLOP, FLOP, FLOP, FLOP.
That will be 99.9% of the headlines in the Chitlin Circuit cause only in the urban market do albums live and
die within the first week of their release. So, Megan will join the long list of artists like Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Lizzo, Jack Harlow, Roddy Ricch, Fivio Foreign, Post Malone, Chris Brown, and many more who failed to live up to predictions or do better than their previous projects.
And while the laziest hot takes, but probably the most popular, will be that "Traumazine" did not sell because it was "trash," the album reviews, and my ears, tell a different story. The critics rewarded Megan for being more vulnerable and experimenting with her sounds while still being that hard-hitting lyrical Houston rapper. Not only that, Megan was able to please the harshest critics of them all - "Day 1 Hotties."
So, what went wrong?
THEE 40K SALES MISTAKE
Let's first get this out of the way. I understand leaks affected Megan Thee Stallion's rollout and forced her to drop "Traumazine" as a "surprise" project. Obviously, in a music market where the rap aesthetic is way
more popular than the actual music, Megan dropping an album out of the blue was not ideal, especially at this stage of her career where she is a rap star but not yet a superstar.
I will deal with that milk-dud head-ass nigga next week.
However, that is not what cost Megan 40K + sales in the first week. Instead, Megan and Kevin Liles/300 Entertainment cost themselves those sales the minute they chose "Plan B" and "Pressurelicious" as the follow-up singles to the successful "Sweetest Pie."
The whole point of singles is to build up anticipation by giving fans a preview of what to expect from an album. It's similar to movie trailers; you cut out all the fluff and give people the action or crying scenes. So similar to singles, they should not only serve as a lead-up to the projects but invoke excitement, curiosity, intrigue, drama, or any type of intense emotion that will compel more than your core audience (and haters) to immediately check out the album.
"Plan B" and "Pressurelicious" were momentum stoppers because they failed to invoke the proper reaction the album needed before its release.
"Plan B" is an unapologetic rap song with a nostalgic feel in the best way possible. However, with rap
music losing its appeal and Pop / Pop Rap making a comeback, this song needed to be pushed and packaged in a certain way. Instead, it was tossed out to the public without a proper rollout and then given a music video that was used as a vehicle to promote a designer, not the song. "Plan B" cost Megan her first 20K in sales.
Next, there is "Pressurelicious." Do I even have to say anything? I wrote a dissertation on why this song should have never been a single; in fact, it should have never made the album. This is the only song on "Traumazine" I skip. That's where the other 20K of sales went because this song invoked the emotion of "doubt," "apprehension," "confusion," and "fear" as to what the hell "Traumazine" would be.
When you drop an album this close to Beyonce's "Renaissance," you cannot give people any reason to wait to listen to your project. Instead, you need to provide GP with multiple reasons to pause Bey to give your shit a chance.
The lack of a proper rollout/video for "Plan B" and "Pressurelicious" just being all wrong was a mistake that cost Megan at least 40K in first-week sales.
HOW YOU FINISH
The "Good News" for Megan and 300 is that the problem is not the album. It's the unforced errors made in-house. That means "Traumazine" can be successful because, unlike some artists, Megan does not have to overcome bad reviews. So, instead of overfocusing on the start, Megan and her team need to focus on where they see "Traumazine" finishing.
For example, Doja Cat's "Planet Her" did not debut at #1 with huge first-week sales. Instead, it debuted at
#2 with 109K total sales, and Doja only hit that number because her team dropped a deluxe album the same week "Planet Her" was released to pad her sales numbers. But, no one but me remembers that start. When you think of "Planet Her," you only think of the multiple hits.
That goes for Lizzo too. Her 69K first-week sales are nothing to write home about, but no one cares because when you look at the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, she is sitting pretty next to Beyonce in the top 10. That is the advantage of being in a singles era.
That is the mindset Megan, her team, and core fans need to have regarding this album. People always remember where you finished, but rarely where you started.
Which brings me to Kendrick Lamar...
WHAT WOULD KENDRICK DO?
Kendrick Lamar, one of our greatest rappers, was dragged when he failed to meet the high sales expectations for his album "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers." Luckily for fans, Kendrick, like Beyonce, does allow the Chitterlings of the Chitlin Circuit to dictate the success of his album just because things do not
go as planned the first week.
Instead, he took the album on the road and allowed fans to experience it. We have all seen the viral videos. Now, those discussions about Kendrick's album being trash have been replaced by talks of Kendrick having an album of the year and being the front-runner for a Grammy.
This is the direction Megan needs to take. I do not want to see Megan sitting on Twitter or IG getting lost in the algorithm promoting this album to death. She needs to be out giving fans the "Traumazine" experience. The key word is "experience." We know Megan can put on a show, but can she give fans an experience?
BAD BITCH AND I GOT BAD ANXIETY
What is the "Traumazine" experience?
The heart and the focus of the "Traumazine" experience has to be centered around the songs "Anxiety" and "Flip Flop." Those are the two songs that connect with people on a personal level and across multiple demographics.
I have heard so many Black women talk about having anxiety due to the constant attacks aimed at us on social media and in real life. Look at all the female rappers who have opened up about having anxieties. Can you imagine being part of a culture that is a safe haven for abusers? Being part of a culture that will embrace a man they have never embraced before simply because he has to face the consequences of attacking a woman? That will give me anxiety. We need to start talking about it, and Megan should lead the discussions.
So, while all the other girls compete for club bangers, Megan will be the one who has our undivided attention due to the discussions her music is sparking. It's similar to how Logic sparked discussion around suicide with his 1-800 song.
SO, DID MEGAN FLOP?
In urban media...YES!
But outside of Blackistan, it is too early to declare this album a flop. If Megan and her Hotties treat this album like a flop, it will be a flop. However, if Meg continues working the singles, I believe she can change the narrative around this album just like others have.
On a promo note. I really think Megan should turn those animations into 1-2 min stories based on the song they represent. Each week she drops a new one, and that is how she promotes the album on social media instead of the usual post everyone does.
There are 18 songs, so that is 18 weeks of promo that will get people's attention.
Speak, Heart, Share...Thanks!