Megan Thee Stallion’s “Whenever” References Explained

Megan Thee Stallion isn’t wasting a second on the road to MEGAN: ACT III, especially after taking over Coachella earlier in the month. On Friday (April 25), the Houston superstar unveiled her new single, “Whenever,” along with its eagerly awaited visuals.

In the Zac Dov Wiesel-directed video, Megan crashed straight into an office, followed by her immediately launching into a handful of chaotic scenes, including doing a split atop a reception desk, twerking in the desert, and even entertaining the audience from inside a fish tank. All the while, there’s an older woman who appears to be the only one genuinely stunned by everything going on. Watch “Whenever” below.

“Whenever” Samples Ms. Cherry’s “It’s Whatever”

One of the things listeners are bound to pick up on is the catchy “It’s whenever, b**ch, it’s whatever, h**” chant echoing in the background. That’s actually a sample from Ms. Cherry’s “It’s Whatever,” which we can thank producers Bankroll Got It and Shawn “Source” Jarrett for incorporating into “Whenever.”

Shots Fired At Torrey Craig’s Ex?

Megan doesn’t pull any punches early on, with her seemingly referencing Torrey Craig’s ex-girlfriend and influencer Olivia Davis, who repeatedly mispronounced the rapper’s name on the “3 Girls 1 Kitchen” podcast in November 2024. “Magan Thee Stallion? Mag Thee Stallion? What’s her name?” Davis asked her co-hosts, Alexa Adams and Lana Rhodes.

Coincidently or not, the Good News artist spat, “Say she don’t know me, she fanned out on TikTok/ B**ch, stop, thinkin’ you ate, should’ve been quiet/ Can’t get your h** back ‘cause he with a pimp now.”

Megan Is Playing Chess, Not Checkers

In one of the video’s racier moments, Megan treated viewers to herself twerking atop a giant knight chess piece — appropriately shaped like a horse’s head — in her lace bodysuit and stockings. “Stomach out, titties out, a** out, yeah, b**ch, what about it?/ Do the b**ch talkin’ s**t look this good? Nah, highly doubt it,” she boasted.

Symbolism aside, the Grammy-winning musician made it very clear she’s miles ahead of her competition. “I’m no better than a man,” one fan joked in the comments section.

Did Megan Thee Stallion Diss Tory Lanez On “Whenever”?

Perhaps one of the more attention-grabbing lines on the new record came from the second verse, in which Megan rapped, “Locked up, been threw away the key, n**gas still stalkin’ me/ Out of sight, but still on you h**s’ mind.” Fans almost immediately interpreted it as a dig at Tory Lanez, who’s notably been “locked up” since being convicted in 2022 for shooting the “HISS” artist two years prior.

The “Whenever” Cover Is Very ‘Fever’-Coded

If the “Whenever” cover art feels familiar, that’s because Megan brought back the iconic typeface from her label debut mixtape, Fever. Both pieces share a warm, orange-dominated color palette and Blaxploitation film-inspired aesthetic. Also, much like the 2019 effort, the new single’s artwork features multiple versions of the Texas rapper herself.