"Shots Fired" is a song by American rapper

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion (pronounced "Megan the Stallion"), is an American rapper and songwriter. Originally from Houston, Texas, she first garnered attention when videos of her ...

. It was released as the first track from Megan's debut studio album, '' Good News'', on November 20, 2020. A diss track, the song recounts Megan's 2020 shooting incident, mocking the shooter, rapper Tory Lanez. The song includes a sample of the

Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

's 1995 track " Who Shot Ya?". "Shots Fired" was universally lauded by critics, who praised Megan's response to Lanez's 2020 album '' Daystar'', which also referenced the shooting.

Background

On July 15, 2020, internet

tabloid Tabloid may refer to: * Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism * Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size ** Chinese tabloid * Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size * Sopwith Tabloid, a biplane aircraft * ''Ta ...

'' TMZ'' posted video footage appearing to show an injured

in an incident involving the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). After initial reports that the injury had been caused by broken glass on the floor of the car in which she was riding, Megan issued a statement clarifying that she "suffered gunshot wounds, as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me". The following month, Megan named Tory Lanez as her shooter, and said that she did not immediately name him out of fear of the police, especially in light of the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests. Megan later revealed that Lanez and his team offered her money in exchange for silence on the matter. On September 25, 2020, Lanez released his fifth studio album, '' Daystar'', in which he repeatedly denied shooting Megan. ''Daystar'' received widespread criticism from music journalists, many of whom refused to review the album. Andre Gee of '' Complex'' referred to the album as "a project too contemptible to be evaluated on any musical scale", while Chris Murphy of ''Vulture'' released a headline saying, "For the Love of God, Do Not Listen to Tory Lanez's Album ''DAYSTAR''". Fellow rapper

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

took to social media to rebuke Lanez for his album, saying "That ain't how you address the accusations you facing with the sister. That was a poor choice, homie. You ain't getting no money with that shit". ''

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'' announced that they would refuse to cover Lanez after he dropped "the most toxic album of the year".

Writing and composition

"Shots Fired" is a rap track, that samples The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1995 hip hop track " Who Shot Ya?" The track was written by Megan (under her birth name of Megan Pete), Buddah Bless (under his birth name of Tyron Douglas), Herb Magidson, and

Allie Wrubel Elias Paul "Allie" Wrubel (January 15, 1905 – December 13, 1973) was an American composer and songwriter. Biography Wrubel was born to a Jewish family in Middletown, Connecticut, United States, the son of Regina (née Glasscheib) and Isaac ...

, and was produced by Bless. The track references specific elements of the shooting, including the pellet and

.22 caliber .22 caliber, or 5.6 mm caliber, refers to a common firearms bore diameter of 0.22 inch (5.6 mm). Cartridges in this caliber include the very widely used .22 Long Rifle and .223 Remington / 5.56×45mm NATO. .22 inch is also a popular ...

with which she was shot, her decision not to tell the police, and the money she and her friend were offered in exchange for their silence. Megan chooses never to name the subject of the track in the song, but instead makes a reference to the shooting of Breonna Taylor.

Release

Megan Thee Stallion announced the name and release date of her debut studio album, '' Good News'' on November 12, 2020. On November 17, three days before the album release, Megan released the album's track list, with "Shots Fired" as the first track. This led to media and fan speculation that the song would address the Lanez incident. ''Good News'' was released on November 20, 2020. Megan revealed in an interview with '' WQHT Hot 97'' that the song was "ready to go the next day" after being shot, but that she held off on releasing the song until she decided that, "at the end of the day, I just can't keep letting people walk all over me". In a subsequent interview with Radio.com, Megan said that she had no interest in continuing to address the incident, and that she felt "like I said enough" on "Shots Fired".

Reception

"Shots Fired" was released to wide acclaim from music critics, who praised Megan's response to the shooting incident. Justin Curto of ''Vulture'' said that the song is "a perfect reminder ..that egan ispast the point of having to prove herself, or anything, to anyone", and called it "a diss track in line with a long lineage of greats". ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', targeted at teenagers. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and celebrities. Since ...

'' said that the track "feels cathartic in allowing her to take the space to fully tell her side of the story". Jon Blistein of '' Rolling Stone'' praised "Shots Fired" as "catty and cutting, and most vicious of all, backed up by the evidence", and compared the song to Noname's " Song 33", a diss track against

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

. Writing for '' NME'', Kyann-Sian Williams referred to "Shots Fired" as "a signal that Megan is not messing around", and that the song "suggests she's done with having her kindness taken for weakness". Steffanee Wang of '' Nylon'' said that "Megan's storytelling ability, clear-eyed delivery, and general charisma as a rapper as she tells her side of the story take center stage", and that "Megan's got the last word" between her and Lanez. In a review for ''

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'', Tom Breihan said that Megan "just atomizes this motherfucker, clowning him for everything from his shallow social-media self-aggrandizement to his choice of weaponry". "Shots Fired" also had a strong fan and commercial showing, with many Twitter users praising the track upon its release. In the United States, "Shots Fired" debuted at number 82 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and at number 23 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot Rap Songs chart. Elsewhere, the song spent one week at number 25 on the

Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

charts, and entered the ''Billboard'' Global 200 at number 162.

Personnel

* Megan Thee Stallion – singer, songwriter * Buddah Bless –

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, songwriter * Herb Magidson – songwriter * Allie Wrubel – songwriter * Shawn "Source" Jarrett – recording engineer * Mike Dean – mixing engineer, mastering * Sage Skolfield – assistant mixer * Sean Solymar – assistant mixer * Jonah Rappaport – A&R administration * Selim Bouab – A&R direction Credits adapted from Tidal.

Charts

References

{{Megan Thee Stallion 2020 songs Megan Thee Stallion songs Songs written by Megan Thee Stallion Songs written by Buddah Bless Song recordings produced by Buddah Bless Diss tracks Songs about musicians Songs about violence Songs about crime Songs about criminals Songs based on actual events Songs about police officers Songs about police brutality Songs with lyrics by Herb Magidson Songs with music by Allie Wrubel