Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, better known as Megan Thee Stallion, was born in 1995 in San Antonio, TX, but her family moved to Houston following her birth. Megan describes this situation in a Tweet; “I am 100% from Houston, Texas, but my mother was pregnant with me in Houston. My grandmother is from San Antonio and she was like, “You need to come have this baby in San Antonio.” So my momma drove to San Antonio, had me in the hospital, and took me right back to the H.”
Her mother, Holly Thomas, recorded music under the name “Holly-Wood” and would often take Megan to the recording studio instead of leaving her at daycare. Following in her mom’s footsteps, Megan started writing rap at age 14 but her mother wanted her to wait until she was 21 to begin rapping as a career as she felt that her lyrics were too sexually suggestive for her age.
In 2013, while in college, Megan began posting videos of herself freestyling, which garnered a lot of attention. One video, of her battling male rappers in a cypher, went viral. Below is a video of one of her most notable early freestyles.
In 2016, Meg released her first single, “Like a Stallion.” In 2017, she made her solo debut with the EP Make It Hot. “Last Week in HTx” became her most popular song at the time.
In 2018, Meg signed with 1501 Certified Entertainment, an independent label in Houston. She was the first female rapper signed to the label. In June 2018, she released the EP, Tina Snow, which was positively received by critics. In January 2019, “Big Ole Freak” was released as a single from the EP, and a music video was filmed. The song charted at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving her her first chart entry. It later went on to peak at 65 on the Hot 100. In May 2019, her second mixtape, Fever, was released and received critical acclaim. In June 2019, Meg was announced to be one of the artists included in the 12th edition of XXL’s Freshman Class, where her freestyle was also positively received. In August 2019, the single “Hot Girl Summer” was released, featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla Sign.
In March 2020, Meg released the EP, Suga, which featured the hit song, “Savage,” which went viral on TikTok. A remix featuring Beyonce was released in April 2020, which brought the song up on the charts and helped it land in the top 10. It also boosted the sales for the EP, which peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200. She used the proceeds from the song for the Houston nonprofit, Bread of Life, which provided relief for residents during COVID-19.
Meg released the debut studio album, Good News, in November 2020, and it debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, with over 100,000 album-equivalent units sold. She released her most recent album, Traumazine, in August 2022.
Also recently in the news, Megan was shot in the foot by Tory Lanez in 2020, and he was recently given a guilty verdict in the December 2022 trial. Megan struggled through this time as many people cast doubt on her testimony. As a result of the public ridicule and trauma, she hasn’t publicly discussed it much and wants to put it in the past.
Megan Thee Stallion is known for her confidence and sexually explicit lyrics. Firstly, her official stage name comes from her beautiful physique, which she says men in Texas describe as a “stallion” (hence Megan Thee Stallion). She also has two main alter egos: Tina Snow and Hot Girl Meg. Tina Snow (which is also the name of her first EP), seems to be her main persona as it is described as having overflowing confidence and “unapologetically sexual dominant delivery.” Hot Girl Meg” is her outgoing and carefree side. Meg compares this persona to that of a “college party girl.” She also sometimes refers to herself as the H-Town Hottie, in reference to her hometown, Houston.
Songs
Savage is arguably one of Meg’s most popular songs. This song went viral on TikTok, even having a dance to go along with the chorus.
This is probably one of my personal favorites from Megan. The song feels nostalgic and has a similar beat to some earlier rappers. It features samples from Bootsy’s Rubber Band’ “I’d Rather Be With You” (1976) and Tupac Shakur’s “Ratha Be Ya N****” (1996).
This is one of Megan’s more recent songs. It was featured as the second single on her most recent album, Traumazine. Many believed this song was about Tory Lanez, however, Meg has said that the song is more about past relationships rather than one individual. This beat also reminds me of earlier rappers and I love the aggressiveness in her delivery.
Texas Connection & Impact
Texas has a rich history in relation to the hip-hop and rap scene. Meg cites Pimp C as one of her favorite rappers and inspirations. She also, however, wants people to “get to know the new Houston.” In an interview, she was asked how it feels to come from a legacy left by rappers like Pimp C. She says:
“Oh, you know that’s my favorite rapper. So just coming from that culture I keep it going in this generations type of style. Houston is definitely known for being chopped n’ screwed. I still love that, that’s still us and that’s still in me. But that’s not what we’re about all the time. I definitely want people to get to know new Houston. Just coming from that I feel like we have to keep the legacy of being super live artists.”
Megan never forgets where she came from. As stated before, she used proceeds from the song “Savage” to support a local nonprofit that supported families during the pandemic. In 2022, she also announced that she would be launching a nonprofit, the Pete and Thomas Foundation, in honor of her late parents. The foundation would support the underserved communities in Houston with education, housing, and health needs. In 2022, the Mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, honored Meg for her efforts and declared that May 2 would officially be “Megan Thee Stallion Day.” She also received a key to the city.
We all love Megan for being such a confident female rapper in a field that is dominated by men. You can argue that her music may not be appropriate for everyone, but it definitely helps lots of women feel more confident about themselves. Even if you put the music aside, Megan is a beautiful woman – inside and out.
Sources
Baiden, Kamilla Rose. “Get Familiar with Megan Thee Stallion’s Freestyle Powers.” The Face, 13 June 2019, https://theface.com/music/best-megan-thee-stallion-freestyles-xxl-hot-girl-summer.
Gomez, Jade. “How Megan Thee Stallion Earned Her Confidence.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2019, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/megan-thee-stallion-freestyle-808378/.
Howard, Nandi. “Meet the Electrifying Megan Thee Stallion.” The FADER, The FADER, 18 June 2019, https://www.thefader.com/2018/08/30/megan-thee-stallion-tina-snow-interview.
Mowatt, Robyn. “BAEwatch: Megan Thee Stallion.” Hypebae, Hypebae, 18 Dec. 2018, https://hypebae.com/2018/12/megan-thee-stallion-interview-baewatch.
Pauly, Alexandra. “Confirming What We Already Knew, Texas Names Megan Thee Stallion A Hero.” Highsnobiety, 13 Dec. 2021, https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/megan-thee-stallion-texas-hero-graduate/.
Pierre Mekishana. “Megan Thee Stallion Honored with a Key to the City of Houston.” Entertainment Tonight, Entertainment Tonight, 2 May 2022, https://www.etonline.com/megan-thee-stallion-is-honored-by-her-hometown-of-houston-with-key-to-the-city-and-her-own-day.
