Megan Thee Stallion facts for kids

Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion (pronounced "Megan the Stallion"), is an American rapper. Originally from Houston, Texas, she first garnered attention when videos of her freestyling became popular on social media platforms such as Instagram. She signed with 300 Entertainment in 2018.

In late 2020, Megan Thee Stallion released her debut studio album, Good News to critical and commercial success, reaching number two on the Billboard 200. During the same year, she earned two number-one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 with her single "Savage (Remix)" (featuring fellow Houston native Beyoncé) and her guest appearance on Cardi B's single "WAP". The latter of which became her first number-one in several international markets, including the Billboard Global 200 chart. In 2021, she was featured alongside Doja Cat on the remix of Ariana Grande's single "34+35", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. In March 2022, the release of her single "Sweetest Pie" (with Dua Lipa) promptly continued her success.

In July 2020, Megan Thee Stallion was shot in the foot by Canadian rapper Tory Lanez during an altercation in the Hollywood Hills, California. The shooting was a major thematic element of her debut album, Good News. In December 2022, Lanez was tried and convicted on all counts in relation to the attack on her.

She has received several accolades, including six BET Awards, five BET Hip Hop Awards, four American Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, a Billboard Women in Music Award, and three Grammy Awards. At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, she became the second female rapper to win Best New Artist, after Lauryn Hill in 1999. In 2020, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world on their annual list. Outside of music, she has focused on her education, graduating from Texas Southern University with a Bachelor of Science in Health Administration in 2021. She is also an avid follower of Anime, with some stylistic elements of the genre present in her music videos; she's cited some of her favorites as Attack on Titan, Black Butler, Black Clover, Bleach, My Hero Academia, Naruto and Soul Eater.

Early life and education

Megan Jovon Ruth Pete was born on February 15, 1995, in San Antonio, Texas, and her mother, Holly Thomas, immediately moved to Houston after her birth. Thomas rapped under the name "Holly-Wood" and would bring her daughter with her to recording sessions instead of putting her in daycare. Pete was raised in the South Park neighborhood of Houston before moving with her mother to Pearland at age 14, where she lived until she turned 18. Pete began writing raps at age 14. When she eventually showed Thomas her rapping skills at age 18, Thomas required that Pete wait until she was 21 to pursue rapping as a career. Pete attended Pearland High School and graduated in 2013. Her father died during her freshman year of high school.

In 2013, while Pete was a student at Prairie View A&M University, she began uploading videos of herself freestyling on social media. A clip of Pete battling against male opponents in a "cypher" went viral. The exposure helped Pete gain a larger digital presence and following on social media. She garnered fans by posting her freestyles on her Instagram while in college. She credits her hyperactive fan base for her early success. After taking time off from school, Pete resumed her studies at Texas Southern University. She graduated on December 11, 2021, with a Bachelor of Science in health administration.

She adopted the stage name "Megan Thee Stallion" because she was called a "stallion" in adolescence due to her height (178 cm (5 ft 10 in)) and "thick" body frame.

Career

2016–2017: Early beginnings

In April 2016, Megan Thee Stallion released her first single "Like a Stallion". This was followed by the small SoundCloud-exclusive mixtapes Rich Ratchet (2016), and Megan Mix (2017). In September 2017, Megan Thee Stallion made her professional solo debut with the commercially released EP Make It Hot. The EP's 2017 single "Last Week in HTx" became her most successful single during this time, amassing several million views on YouTube. In 2017, Megan Thee Stallion released the song "Stalli (Freestyle)", as a rework of late musician XXXTentacion's "Look at Me!".

Around this time, Megan Thee Stallion auditioned to be a cast member on Love & Hip Hop: Houston; however, the proposed spin-off of the Love & Hip Hop franchise was postponed indefinitely in June 2016.

2018–2019: Tina Snow and Fever

In early 2018, Megan Thee Stallion signed with 1501 Certified Entertainment, an independent label in Houston run by T. Farris and owned by former baseball player Carl Crawford. The first women rapper signed to the label, she then performed at SXSW in March 2018. In June 2018, Megan Thee Stallion released a 10-song extended play titled Tina Snow under the label. The EP was named after her alter ego, "Tina Snow", who she describes as "a more raw version" of herself. Tina Snow was mainly produced by 1501 in-house producer LilJuMadeDaBeat, and was positively received by critics. Nandi Howard of The Fader referred to her ability to rap with "electrifying pace and precision". In November 2018, Megan Thee Stallion announced that she had signed with 300 Entertainment, making her the first women rapper to be signed by the label. It was during this time that she was scheduled to support Australian rapper Iggy Azalea on her Bad Girls Tour; however, the tour was later cancelled.

On January 22, 2019, Megan Thee Stallion released "Big Ole Freak" as a single from her EP, Tina Snow, and also filmed a music video for the track. The single, "Is It Love This Time", is sampled throughout the single. On April 15, "Big Ole Freak" charted at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 giving Megan Thee Stallion her first chart entry, with it later peaking at number 65 on the Hot 100. Fever, her second mixtape, was released on May 17, 2019. The album received critical acclaim and landed on several year-end critics lists, with Paper calling it the best album of 2019. Taylor Crumpton of Pitchfork rated the album 8/10 and wrote in the review, "Megan's delivery of perfectly executed bars are comparable to successions from a fully automatic machine gun; a carefully studied aim of fiery stanzas that could only be carried by a rapper with extensive knowledge of the genre's early practices of battle rap." On May 21, 2019, she released the music video for the opening album track, "Realer", which is inspired by the blaxploitation film style. On June 20, 2019, she was announced to be one of eleven artists included in the 12th edition of XXL's "Freshman Class". Her freestyle in the cypher was praised by music critics. In July 2019, Chance The Rapper released his debut studio album, The Big Day, and Megan Thee Stallion was featured on the track, "Handsome". On August 2, 2019, A Black Lady Sketch Show premiered on HBO.

She featured on Quality Control compilation album, Quality Control: Control the Streets, Volume 2, on the track "Pastor", alongside Quavo and City Girls. In September 2019, Megan Thee Stallion signed a management deal with Roc Nation. In October 2019, she created and starred in a horror series, Hottieween, directed by Teyana Taylor. In that same month, she performed a NPR Tiny Desk Concert during the Tiny Desk Fest. In November 2019, Time placed Megan Thee Stallion on their inaugural "Time 100 Next" list.

2020–2021: Career stardom, Suga and Good News

In January 2020, Megan Thee Stallion released the single "Diamonds" with singer Normani, for the soundtrack of the superhero film Birds of Prey released the same year. That same month, she announced her debut album Suga and released the lead single "B.I.T.C.H.". In February 2020, she featured on the single "Fkn Around" by Phony Ppl, and appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, performing "B.I.T.C.H.". The next month, she announced that her debut album was delayed as a result of her attempting to renegotiate her contract with 1501 Certified. She started the hashtag "#FreeTheeStallion" to raise awareness of the issue, noting that "[she did not] understand some of the verbiage" when she signed the initial contract with 1501.

On March 6, 2020, she released the EP, Suga, against the wishes of 1501, after a judge granted a temporary restraining order against the label. That same month, the song "Savage" from the EP went viral on TikTok, when popular user Keara Wilson used it for a dance challenge video, which racked up 15.7 million views and 2.4 million likes as of March 20, 2020. A remix featuring Beyoncé was released on April 29, 2020. The song became Megan Thee Stallion's first top 10 entry in the United States shortly after the remix's release, eventually becoming her first chart topper in the country. "Savage" also helped boost Suga's sales, propelling it up to number 7 on the Billboard 200. Proceeds from the song went to Houston nonprofit Bread of Life which provides disaster relief for residents affected by COVID-19. Megan Thee Stallion was also judge on the HBO Max voguing competition show Legendary which debuted in May 2020. She released the song "Girls in the Hood" on June 26, 2020, before featuring on Cardi B's single "WAP" and appearing in its music video in August 2020. "WAP" became her second number-one single in the U.S., breaking the record for the most streams for a song in its first week of release in the U.S. (93 million).

Megan Thee Stallion became a Global Brand Ambassador for Revlon in August 2020. She received her first-ever Billboard Music Award nomination when she was nominated for Top Rap Female Artist in September 2020. A few days later, she was featured in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. Her write-up for this listing was composed by American actress Taraji P. Henson. Megan Thee Stallion tied with Drake when she received eight nominations at the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards, including Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year. She also tied with Justin Bieber as the most nominated musician at the 2020 People's Choice Awards, earning six nominations each. Megan Thee Stallion would also become the second most-nominated act at the 2020 American Music Awards. In October 2020, she released the single, "Don't Stop" featuring rapper Young Thug, and promoted it by performing it on the 46th season premiere of Saturday Night Live. She performed a "politically charged" version of "Savage" that evening, in which she addressed racism, the Attorney General of Kentucky Daniel Cameron, and sent a message about the importance of protecting black women and the Black Lives Matter movement. She continued working for this cause by writing an op-ed for The New York Times titled "Why I Speak Up for Black Women", which received acclaim. Megan Thee Stallion appeared in the 2020 comedy special Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine. She received four nominations at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Record of the Year for "Savage (Remix)". She went on to win the former, which made her the first women hip hop artist to do so since Lauryn Hill in 1999, as well as Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, both for "Savage (Remix)".

On November 13, 2020, Megan Thee Stallion announced the release of her debut studio album Good News, which was released on November 20, 2020. The release of the album also coincided with its fourth single "Body" as well as its music video. The album debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 and at number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with over 100,000 album-equivalent units sold. On January 14, 2021, Megan Thee Stallion was featured on the remix of Ariana Grande's single "34+35", the second single from her sixth studio album Positions alongside American singer and rapper Doja Cat. A music video for the remix was later released on February 12, 2021. Megan Thee Stallion won the most awards at the 2021 BET Awards ceremony with four. Boy band BTS released a remix of the single "Butter" featuring the rapper, which reached number three on the Billboard Global 200. She also led the nominations for the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards along with Cardi B, with nine each; both rappers won the most awards during the ceremony with three for "WAP". Megan Thee Stallion was featured on DJ Snake's single "SG", along with Ozuna and Lisa of Blackpink, released in October.

On September 16, 2021, Post Malone announced the Posty Fest 2021 lineup, with Megan Thee Stallion as one of the performers at the festival based in Arlington, Texas, next October. Megan was honored as one of Glamour's Women of the Year in November. Megan won three awards at the 2021 American Music Awards, tying with Doja Cat and BTS for the most during the night.

Megan Thee Stallion graduated from Texas Southern University on December 11, 2021. Shortly after, Megan was honored with the 18th Congressional District of Texas Hero Award by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee for her philanthropy efforts in Houston. In the coming days after Megan's graduation, she signed an exclusive first-look deal with Netflix that will see her create and produce executive content, including television series and other projects.

2022: Traumazine

On March 11, 2022, Megan Thee Stallion released a collaboration with English singer Dua Lipa, named "Sweetest Pie". On March 27, Megan made a surprise appearance at the 94th Academy Awards where she performed alongside various artists "We Don't Talk About Bruno" from the film Encanto. Megan made history becoming the second women rapper to perform the Academy Awards, the first being Queen Latifah in the 81st Academy Awards ceremony. She received acclaim at the Oscars for the surprise performance, with Rolling Stone stating: "Megan Thee Stallion Makes 'Encanto' Track...All the More Magical at Oscars."

On February 15, 2022, Megan Thee Stallion announced the launching of a nonprofit program, the Pete and Thomas Foundation, in honor of her late mother and father Holly Thomas and Joseph Pete Jr. The foundation seeks to help underserved communities in Houston, Texas and beyond through education, housing, and health and wellness needs.

On May 1, 2022, the Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner honored Megan for her philanthropic and humanitarian efforts for the Houston people by proclaiming May 2 Megan Thee Stallion Day in Houston, Texas. She received an honorary key to the City of Houston, a symbolic cowboy hat and belt buckle.

In a Rolling Stone cover story, Megan revealed that she collaborated with Future for her upcoming second album on a song titled "Pressurelicious."

On August 11, 2022, Megan Thee Stallion took to Twitter to announce that her second studio album Traumazine would be released the next day. Upon release, Traumazine received positive reviews from critics, who complimented its production and Megan's flow.

2023–present: Upcoming third studio album

In 2023 she will star in the Larry Charles directed A24 musical film Dicks: The Musical (2023). On September 4, 2023, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion announced their new single "Bongos." On October 27, she announced a new single titled "Cobra," that released on November 2 from her upcoming third album. This is her first independent single since departing from her record label 1501 Certified Entertainment in October 2023.

Artistry

Influences

Megan Thee Stallion cites her mother as her first and biggest influence. Other inspirations she has mentioned are the Notorious B.I.G., Lil' Kim, Queen Latifah, Eve, Three 6 Mafia, Trina, Salt-N-Pepa, Missy Elliott,Foxy Brown and she credits Q-Tip as her mentor. She has said in interviews that when she was coming of age in the 2000s, she would listen to her favorite rap songs from acts like Three 6 Mafia, and ask herself, "How good would this sound if a girl did it?"

She has also been influenced by Beyoncé. In her Grammy Awards acceptance speech with Beyoncé for "Savage", she said: "Ever since I was little, I was like, 'you know what? One day, I'm gonna grow up and I'm gonna be like the rap Beyoncé.' That was definitely my goal. [..] I love her work ethic, I love the way she is, I love the way she carries herself." In a Teen Vogue interview, she spoke about Nicki Minaj as another influence: "[she] was here before us, so this is who we had to look at, at this time. So, definitely she has been an inspiration to me."

Alter egos

In multiple interviews, Megan Thee Stallion has referred to herself as "Tina Snow", one of her alter egos and also the name of her debut EP, Tina Snow.

Megan Thee Stallion (shown in 2019) doing her signature ad-lib

Other ventures

In September 2021, Megan partnered with Nike for a promotional campaign and fitness program through the Nike Training Club app. In October 2021, Megan appeared on First We Feast and Complex Media's Hot Ones. On October 14, 2021, it was announced that Megan Thee Stallion signed a wide-ranging deal with multinational fast-food company Popeyes that includes her own Popeyes franchise, a new hot sauce and co-branded merchandise. She partnered with Cheetos for a Super Bowl commercial in 2022.

Megan was on the grid of the 2021 United States Grand Prix where attempts to interview her by Martin Brundle were snubbed by her bodyguards leading to criticism, causing F1 to introduce the "Brundle Clause", prohibiting bodyguards on the race grid.

Television and film

In 2020, Megan Thee Stallion appeared as a judge on the premiere season of HBO’s ballroom and voguing competition series Legendary. She would continue appearing as a judge for the series’ second season in 2021, before being replaced by Keke Palmer, in the third and final season, due to scheduling and contractual agreements. On December 16, 2021, she signed an exclusive first-look deal at Netflix, to create and executive produce new series and other projects. On February 17, 2022, it was announced that Megan will co-star in A24's first movie musical titled Dicks: The Musical, described as "a spin on The Parent Trap". She guest starred in the Disney+ Marvel Cinematic Universe series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law as a fictionalized version of herself.

Philanthropy

She contributed $15,400 worth of Thanksgiving turkeys and helped hand them out to 1,050 households in need at the Houston Food Bank portwall pantry, in November 2019. In April 2020, she donated over $10,000 to bail relief effort for Houston protestors. The same month, Megan teamed up with Amazon Music to donate to a Nursing Facility in Houston. All the proceeds collected from her collaboration on Beyoncé's Savage (remix) went to Bread of Life, which helps local Houston communities with Covid-19 relief efforts. The song raised over $2.5 million.

In October 2020, she partnered with Amazon Music's rap rotation and launched the "Don't Stop" scholarship fund that awarded two women of color pursuing associate, bachelor or postgraduate degrees, $10,000 each. In February 2021, she launched "******* Helping Houston" with US House Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, the National Association of Christian Churches disaster services, Taraji P. Henson, 300 Entertainment, Maroon 5, Revlon, Mielle Organics, Fashion Nova, and Billie Eilish to help senior citizens and single moms recovering from the area's storm related devastation. In March 2021, she collaborated with Fashion Nova for the 'Women on Top" initiative, which would give away $1 million dollars to support female-owned businesses and organizations. The same month, along with Fashion Nova and journalist May Lee, they donated $50,000 after the Atlanta spa shootings to the legal non-profit, Advancing Justice Atlanta.

In June 2021, she offered a full tuition, four year scholarship to the Roc Nation school of music, sports & entertainment at Long Island University.

In October 2021, as part of her wide-ranging agreement with Popeyes, she made a six-figure donation to the charitable organization Houston Random Acts of Kindness.

BTS Army launched "Thee Army Fund" project, which raised over $120,000 to donate to three different organizations: (Woman for Afghan Women, Black Women of Wellness, and Houston Food Bank) in her name to congratulate her on the Butter (Remix). As part of her ceremony to receive the key to the city of Houston, the non-profit Pete and Thomas Foundation donated $5,000 to three people in Houston to assist with their education, housing and wellness expenses.

Personal life

Megan Thee Stallion mentioned being part Creole in her songs "Cocky AF" and "Freak Nasty" as well as in a tweet in September 2017. Her mother, Holly Thomas, died in March 2019 from a longstanding cancerous brain tumor, and Megan's great-grandmother died in the same month. She mentioned her mother's death (Ever since my mama died, 2019) on beginning of her song "Flip Flop" from the second studio album, Traumazine, released on August 12, 2022. In addition to acting as her manager, Megan's grandmother was a major influence on her decision to study health administration and also helped foster her goal to establish assisted living facilities in her hometown of Houston.

She is a self-described fan of anime and her favorites are My Hero Academia and Naruto. Manga artist Shōta Noguchi, who assists My Hero Academia creator Kōhei Horikoshi, has published several renditions of MHA character Rumi Usagiyama using Instagram photos of Megan Thee Stallion as reference. In turn, Megan Thee Stallion published photos of her 2022 Halloween costume of Usagiyama. She has previously cosplayed as MHA character Shoto Todoroki and Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon.

Megan Thee Stallion confirmed her relationship with fellow rapper Pardison Fontaine via Instagram Live on February 19, 2021. The pair ended their relationship in 2023.

Shooting

Tory Lanez, pictured in 2016

On July 15, 2020, Megan Thee Stallion stated that she had suffered gunshot wounds.

The following month, Megan claimed that Lanez was the person who shot her, saying, "I didn't tell the police what happened immediately right there because I didn't want to die."

On September 25, 2020, Lanez released his fifth album, Daystar, in which he addressed Megan's allegations in nearly every song, denying that he shot her while also claiming that she and her team were "trying to frame" him.

The same day, in a statement to Variety, Megan's attorney, Alex Spiro, claimed Lanez's representatives had attempted to launch a "smear campaign," using falsified messages to "peddle a false narrative" discrediting Megan. Lanez's team denied this, stating that they would investigate whoever was behind the fake emails, then would take appropriate action. Megan later confirmed that she had been offered money by Lanez and his team to keep quiet on the incident, following the incident.

On October 8, 2020, Lanez was charged with shooting Megan Thee Stallion by L.A. County prosecutors. His arraignment was scheduled on October 13; however, it was rescheduled for November 18 after Lanez's attorney requested a continuance. Megan was issued a protection order against Lanez, directing him to stay at least 100 yards (91 m) away from her, and to not contact her. He was also ordered to surrender any guns he owns.

Lanez pleaded not guilty to assault with a semiautomatic handgun in late November 2020. In the same month, Megan Thee Stallion released her debut studio album, Good News, on which the album opener is the diss track "Shots Fired" directed towards Lanez. The song gained acclaim, with critics praising its use of sampling and interpolation of the 1995 song "Who Shot Ya?" by The Notorious B.I.G.

In April 2022, Lanez was arrested for violating the protection order relating to the case; and he was released shortly after on an increased bond of $350,000. On December 13, 2022, Megan Thee Stallion testified in Lanez's assault trial. On December 23, 2022, a jury convicted Lanez on three felony charges stemming from the shooting: assault with a semiautomatic handgun, having a loaded and unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and gross negligence in discharging his firearm. On August 8, 2023, Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the shooting.

Discography

• Good News (2020)
• Traumazine (2022)

Filmography

Film

Television

Tours

Supporting

• Bad Girls Tour (for Iggy Azalea and Cupcakke) (2018; Cancelled)
• Legendary Nights Tour (for Meek Mill and Future) (2019)
• Future Nostalgia Tour (for Dua Lipa) (2022)

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Megan Thee Stallion para niños

• List of artists who reached number one in the United States
• Southern hip hop
• List of YouTubers