Fever (mixtape)

Fever is the debut mixtape[1] by American rapper Megan Thee Stallion. It was released via 300 Entertainment on May 17, 2019,[2] and features 14 tracks.[3] The mixtape includes the single "Sex Talk", as well as the songs "Simon Says" featuring Juicy J and "Money Good".[4] It also includes the album song, “Cash Shit” featuring DaBaby.

Fever
Mixtape by Megan Thee Stallion
Released	May 17, 2019 (2019-05-17)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	40:09
Label	300 1501 Certified Ent.
Producer	Crazy Mike DJ Chose DJ WillAye Juicy J KC Supreme Koncept P LilJuMadeDaBeat Project Pat Prolivik Beeats Suede Supah Mario DJ Zirk
Megan Thee Stallion chronology
Tina Snow (2018) Fever (2019) Suga (2020)
Singles from Fever
"Sex Talk" Released: March 22, 2019 "Realer" Released: May 16, 2019

Promotion

Megan Thee Stallion formally announced the mixtape with a trailer posted to her social media accounts on May 8, captioning it "MEET HOT GIRL MEG 🔥", the name of her alter ego for the mixtape.[5] In the trailer, Hot Girl Meg drives in a red convertible with three other women before a snippet of a song plays.[3]

Singles

The lead single from Fever, "Sex Talk", was released to all major streaming services and digital platforms on March 22, 2019.

The opening track, "Realer", was released as a promotional single on May 16, 2019. The single was premiered by Zane Lowe on the Beats 1 radio show. Its music video was released to Vevo on May 21, 2019. It received one million views within 48 hours of uploading.

The song "Cash Shit" featuring DaBaby was released as a single and has so far reached a peak of number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6] This is her second song to reach the Top 40 of the Hot 100, her first being "Hot Girl Summer" featuring Ty Dolla Sign and Nicki Minaj.[6]

Commercial performance

Fever debuted at number ten on the US Billboard 200 with 27,956 album-equivalent units, of which 3,725 were pure album sales. It became just the 7th female rap project to reach the top ten in the last 10 years.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Album of the Year	82/100[7]
Metacritic	81/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Exclaim!	8/10[10]
HipHopDX	4/5[11]
Pitchfork	8.0/10[12]
RapReviews	6.5/10[13]

Fever was generally well-received by critics upon its release. On Metacritic, the mixtape received a score of 81 out of 100 from eight reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Amongst the positive reviews was Fred Thomas for AllMusic, who claimed that "With near-peerless levels of confidence, fearlessly bold lyricism, and relentless, expertly crafted beats, Fever establishes Megan Thee Stallion as a figure in Southern rap."[9] Pitchfork awarded the mixtape a score of 8.0 out of 10 and noted that Megan Thee Stallion's debut album is "steeped in sex, pimpin, and power; it sounds like a once and future Houston rap classic"[12] Jon Caramanica of New York Times selected Fever as the publication's "critic's pick" and wrote, "Before this album, Megan Thee Stallion's standout moments have come via radio-appearance freestyles — a familiar proving ground for rappers of an earlier generation, and one where she has thrived... Fever, however, is more cohesive, polished and forceful than her previous releases. The production — especially the songs by Lil Ju ("Ratchet", "Cash Shit", "Realer") — is ominous and spacious, a foundation that's sturdy and not distracting."[14] Writing for The Fader, Amani Bin Shikhan stated in a review, "That's the magic of her appeal, and the magic of Fever: listening to Thee Stallion feels like listening to the advice of your most entertaining girlfriend, lovingly scolding you to both get your shit together and fuck it up for a real one."[15]

Accolades

Awards

Award	Year[lower-alpha 1]	Category	Result	Ref.
BET Hip Hop Awards	2019	Best Mixtape	Won	[16]

Rankings

Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Billboard	The 50 Best Albums of 2019	23	[17]
Complex	The Best Albums of 2019	24	[18]
Paper	The 20 Best Albums of 2019	1	[19]
Rolling Stone	The 50 Best Albums of 2019	31	[20]
Uproxx	The 50 Best Albums of 2019	16	[21]

Track listing

Adapted from Megan Thee Stallion's Twitter.[22]

All tracks are written by Megan Pete except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Realer"		LilJuMadeDaBeat	2:29
2.	"Hood Rat Shit"		KC Supreme Koncept P	3:01
3.	"Pimpin"		Juicy J Suede Crazy Mike^[a]	3:23
4.	"Cash Shit" (featuring DaBaby)	Pete Jonathan Kirk	LilJuMadeDaBeat	3:12
5.	"W.A.B"		Project Pat Supah Mario	2:57
6.	"Best You Ever Had"		DJ Chose	2:39
7.	"Simon Says" (featuring Juicy J)	Pete Jordan Houston	Juicy J Suede Crazy Mike^[a]	3:20
8.	"Shake That"		LilJuMadeDaBeat	2:52
9.	"Money Good"		DJ Chose	3:17
10.	"Dance"		Juicy J Crazy Mike^[a]	2:56
11.	"Ratchet"		LilJuMadeDaBeat Prolivik Beeats	2:14
12.	"Sex Talk"		DJ WillAye	2:11
13.	"Big Drank"		LilJuMadeDaBeat	3:27
14.	"Running Up Freestyle"		LilJuMadeDaBeat	2:04

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2019) Peak position US Billboard 200[23] 10 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[24] 6

Year-end charts Chart (2019) Position US Billboard 200[25] 163 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[26] 62

Notes

1. Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

1. "*mixtape lol 🔥🔥🔥 real HOTGIRL SHIT". Instagram. July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
2. Ch, Devin (May 9, 2019). "Megan Thee Stallion Teases 'Fever' Debut With Her Ragtop Armada At Full-Strength". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
3. Coley, Jordan (May 8, 2019). "Megan Thee Stallion Announced That Her New Album 'Fever' Will Be Released This Month". Uproxx. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
4. Johnson, Jasmine (May 7, 2019). "Megan Thee Stallion's 'Fever' Project is Coming Soon". The Source. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
5. Maicki, Salvatore (May 3, 2019). "Megan Thee Stallion's debut album Fever is dropping in two weeks". The Fader. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
6. Charts, Billboard (2019-08-19). "Billboard Charts on Twitter". @billboardcharts. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
7. "Megan Thee Stallion, Fever". Album of the Year. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
8. "Fever by Megan Thee Stallion". Metacritic. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
9. Thomas, Fred (May 17, 2019). "Fever - Megan Thee Stallion | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
10. Wallace, Riley (May 22, 2019). "Megan Thee Stallion Fever". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
11. Clark, Trent (May 24, 2019). "Review: Megan Thee Stallion's "Fever" Sets Bubblegum Competition On Fire". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
12. Crumpton, Taylor (May 23, 2019). "Megan Thee Stallion:". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
13. Juon, Steve 'Flash' (May 21, 2019). "Megan Thee Stallion :: Fever – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
14. Caramanica, Jon (May 22, 2019). "The Old-Fashioned, High-Impact Rhymes of Megan Thee Stallion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
15. Shikhan, Amani Bin (May 21, 2019). "The fever pitch of Megan Thee Stallion". The Fader. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
16. Lamarre, Carl (September 12, 2019). "Cardi B Leads 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards With 10 Nominations: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
17. Kress, Bryan (December 10, 2019). "The 50 Best Albums of 2019: Staff Picks". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
18. "The Best Albums of 2019". Complex. December 3, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
19. Goldfine, Jael (December 18, 2019). "PAPER's Top 20 Albums of 2019". Retrieved July 4, 2020.
20. "The 50 Best Albums of 2019". Rolling Stone. December 5, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
21. "The Best Albums Of 2019, Ranked". Uproxx. December 2, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
22. "#FEVER track list". May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via Twitter.
23. "Billboard 200: June 1, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
24. "Megan Thee Stallion Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
25. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
26. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved June 7, 2020.