Joe Budden claims Megan Thee Stallion isn’t a ‘superstar’ due to record sales
The podcast host says that the Grammy-winning rapper's album sales aren't good enough to put her into an elite class of music stars.
Megan Thee Stallion is one of the most popular female rap artists out today. Joe Budden doesn’t seem to think so, though. The former rapper and host of The Joe Budden Podcast said that the “Houston hottie” does not qualify as a “superstar” due to her record sales.
During a Feb. 25 episode of his podcast, while discussing what qualifies certain rappers to be considered superstars, Budden stated that artists should not be considered to be superstars if they don’t sell a lot of albums.
“You’re not a superstar if you can’t sell an album,” Budden said. He soon mentioned that Megan should not be considered as such because her albums don’t move big units. “What stops her from being a superstar if we’re taking out sales? She ain’t sold sh-t.”
Budden went on to say that Megan’s several endorsement deals give fans the illusion that the MC may be a superstar. Megan has endorsement deals with Balenciaga, Revlon, Cashapp, and Coach, according to Afrotech. “Got every brand deal in the world, but also has all the backing from different people. She’s got a lot going on.”
Since 2016, Megan Thee Stallion has released seven projects: three mixtapes, three extended plays (EPs), and her debut full-length album release, 2020’s Good News. Of those releases, Good News is the only album that has been certified platinum by the RIAA. Her 2019 Fever mixtape went gold, as did her 2020 EP, Suga.
During that same time, Megan has been very successful with her single releases.
As a lead artist, Megan has released 10 platinum or multi-platinum singles, including the Grammy-winning, quadruple platinum “Savage,” the double-platinum “Hot Girl Summer” featuring Nicki Minaj, and “Body.” This doesn’t include her guest appearance on Maroon 5’s platinum single, “Beautiful Mistakes,” and her feature on Cardi B’s six-time platinum smash, “WAP.”
On the flip side, Budden did acknowledge Cardi B as a superstar during the same episode.
“Cardi B is a superstar and you can’t argue that she is not,” Budden said. Cardi has only released one album, 2018’s Invasion of Privacy, currently at triple platinum. Cardi also has 10 platinum or multiplatinum singles as the lead artist. However, two of those 10, “Bodak Yellow,” and “I Like It,” are certified platinum.
Despite Budden’s assessment, Megan continues to ascend. On Monday, it was announced that she has partnered with AmazeVR to launch Enter Thee Hottieverse, a 10-city, virtual reality concert tour.
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