★★★★☆

Even hotties hit rock bottom. 

Megan Thee Stallion is best known for proud sexuality, scathing verbal takedowns and bold “hot girl” confidence. But “Cobra” shows a new side to the rapper as she opens up about her struggles amid the chaotic past three years of her life.

Headlines in recent years about Megan have centered not just on her music but on her involvement in the trial of Tory Lanez. The fellow rapper was sentenced to 10 years in prison Aug. 8 for shooting Megan in the foot after a party on July 12, 2020. 

Since she first opened up about the shooting weeks after it occurred, Megan has dealt with a tidal wave of criticism from people who doubted her story on social media, with many users spreading misinformation about the case. “Cobra” stands as her first solo release since the beginning of the trial, and Megan is not afraid to cut straight to the heart of her feelings. 

The instrumentation on “Cobra” is some of her most unique yet, featuring a prominent rock-influenced guitar and a keyboard playing a snake chant-like beat throughout the whole song. 

Setting the mood for the song with these fierce instrumentals, Megan cuts straight to the distress she has felt over the past few years, frankly stating that it often drove her to suicidal thoughts. But as she opens up, she never loses her trademark swagger. She tears down not just those who criticized her, but also those who watched her suffering in silence. 

Megan spits out the lines “Long as everybody gettin’ paid, right? Everything’ll be ok, right?” with a note of scornful disapproval reminiscent of Outkast’s classic wakeup call to their listeners in “Hey Ya!” (“Y’all don’t wanna hear me, you just wanna dance”).

The venom in her voice is present throughout the rest of the song, particularly when she calls out the slanderers and cheaters who brought her to her lowest point. 

Sometimes the dichotomy between her openness about her depression and her explicit sexuality can create some rather jarring lyrics (with “This pussy depressed” being the main chant throughout the chorus). These kinds of lyrics can come off the tongue a bit clunkily, keeping her sharp comments from making their full impact.

Still, Megan carries such a cheeky attitude and self-awareness that she manages to pull it off with finesse. Throughout the song, Megan claims her struggles and takes on the rebukes of her onlookers with a new sense of confidence. She fiercely concludes the song by remarking “​​He say I’m crazy, hmm, don’t I know it.”

“Cobra” feels like the shedding of an old, bleaker phase of Megan’s life into a stronger, more vivacious one. Her lyrics and instrumentals are some of her most unique and memorable of recent discography, displaying the same creativity seen in tracks like “Megan’s Piano” from her album “Something for Thee Hotties.” Her specific movement into more rock-inspired beats appears to be following a trend set by some of her fellow heavy-hitters like SZA and Olivia Rodrigo. 

Trying new styles, exposing her past and dashing her haters, Megan indicates on “Cobra” that she is starting an exciting new era of her career with a fresher bite than ever.