Every week, Consequence’s Songs of the Week column looks at great new tunes from the last seven days and analyzes notable releases. Find our new favorites and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist, and for other great songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Megan Thee Stallion teamed up with BTS’ RM on her new song “Neva Play” and MJ Lenderman’s new album Manning Fireworks features the exceptional tune “Wristwatch.”
Megan Thee Stallion & RM’s “Neva Play” Is So Hot I’m a Little Scared
Here’s the thing: we absolutely need to get BTS out of the military. They’ve served enough!
If you don’t stay super up to date on all things regarding BTS, you might be surprised to hear that they’ve been on something of a hiatus for the past few years. It hasn’t felt like a hiatus at all. It’s becoming a bit mind-boggling to see how much content these guys prepared before setting off — fans have been swimming in multiple full-length albums, travel shows, documentaries, and collaborations that were all prepared ahead of time, including this new track from Megan Thee Stallion.
Megan Thee Stallion and RM make a good team. They’re both poised and confident; they both have unbelievable amounts of stage presence. They love wordplay and thrive in their respective flows when rapping. Their first team-up took place when Meg jumped on the playful, bright remix to BTS’ “Butter,” but “Neva Play” is an entirely different vibe. If anyone understands the amount of range a BTS member can offer from song to song, it’s ARMY’s resident purple princess; this is day 726 of me asking for Megan Thee Stallion photo cards. It’s what we deserve!
RM thrives in his lower register, which is employed to maximum effect on “Neva Play.” It’s always a thrill to see new listeners embrace the reality that BTS’ enormous disocgraphy promises a world of riches waiting beyond the songs that helped introduce them to the general public and casual listeners; today, Twitter has been a flurry of non-fans and Hotties (members of Meg’s fandom) proclaiming their new ARMY status. “I did not know anyone in BTS sounded like this,” one user wrote. “RM, I wasn’t aware of your game,” said another.
It seems ARMY weren’t the only ones shaken by that intro line of, “What’s up Stallion?” But any longtime fan can relate to the tension of embracing well-deserved recognition and wanting to gatekeep a little, especially because this is a particularly intense collab. This is “DDAENG” energy. This is “Cypher Pt.3” energy. This is “All Night” energy, and that’s not something to play about.
— Mary Siroky
Associate Editor