Nearly four months after launching her self-titled era, Megan Thee Stallion is showing the world that she’s at home with herself by honoring her roots with the sultry new song “Bigger in Texas.” The Grammy winner dropped Megan: Act II earlier today, along with a standout music video for the aforementioned track that features Houston landmarks and legends—and a lot of Lone Star pride.
After opening with Pen & Pixel graphics, a ginormous Texas flag, and a heavy but relaxed bass line reminiscent of early-2000s Dirty South hip-hop, “Bigger in Texas” really kicks off with Megan, in a skimpy, all-denim ensemble, leaning on a slab, a clear callback to H-Town car culture. “I’m at the top of my game, I’m who they hate,” she raps confidently.
She later swaps her usually dark hair for long, blond locks and the denim for a serpent-like green cowboy hat and bikini, recalling the snake motifs of “Boa,” “Cobra,” and “Hiss” from Megan. In a split shot, Houston jeweler Johnny Dang shows Megan new ice on the left, while on the right, a butterfly sits on her hand, another reference to her transformation as an artist.
In yet another refrain about being in her prime, Megan wears a bejeweled Astros hat while dancing in a lowrider. (She threw the ceremonial first pitch at Minute Maid Park on opening day last year.) Scarface of Houston’s Geto Boys also makes an appearance in an Astros cap during this segment, putting Megan alongside another hip-hop icon from Texas.
While her last album included experimental sounds and lyrics that seesawed from vengeful to vulnerable, Megan appears to reflect on how far she’s come in loving herself with a huge dose of radical acceptance that is apparently not dependent on her recent focus on fitness. “I look good in my throwbacks, look good chubby, I look good slim,” she raps. “Ignorin’ the haters that speak on my body. . . . E’rrythang bigger in Texas, no injections, we at the pole, no elections.” She echos the sentiment about not caring about the opinions of others toward the end of the track: “Self-made, and sensual, and I’m always on point like a decimal.”
Self-love isn’t new to Megan’s music. After all, she catapulted into stardom with tracks like “Body” and “Thot S—,” which are all about embracing the way you look. However, those hits came when Megan was playing with alter egos Tina Snow, Hot Girl Meg, and Suga. “Bigger in Texas” shows Megan as Megan—Houston-raised and proud.
And while her diamond grill and the flex about being “the youngest b— ownin’ her master’s” demonstrate that she’s indeed on top, her latest music video shows that it doesn’t have to be lonely up there. The closing scene of “Bigger in Texas” is a celebratory dance party featuring fellow Houston rappers Paul Wall, Slim Thug, and Sauce Walka.
Along with the new album and music video, Megan will continue this journey of self-reflection with a documentary, out on Amazon Prime Video on October 31, called Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words. “Through that whole period of my life, I was going through some crazy stuff, and I feel like a lot of people dehumanized me. . . . So to have my story told by so many people who aren’t me, I thought it was kind of nuts,” she recently said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “It felt like so many people were in control of my narrative. I was like, ‘I have to get some reins on this. I have to show people how I feel.’ . . . I want people to know me, Megan Pete, not just as Megan Thee Stallion.”
With every new piece added to this era, she continues to show that while self-confidence may be bigger in Texas, Megan’s contribution to hip-hop gets bigger and better with time.
