February 15, 1995, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.) American rapper who rose to prominence in the 2010s as part of a growing cohort of women hip-hop artists.
She is known for her bodacious lyrics and viral songs, including “Hot Girl Summer” and “Savage.” Journalist Lola Ogunnaike described Megan Thee Stallion’s charm in a 2020 Marie Claire article, writing:
“Even if you can’t spend an entire season scantily clad and liquored up, she gives you license to feel like you can. Everyone’s invited to her party, as long as you’re loving yourself and down for a good time. Her joie de vivre is infectious. Her unwavering confidence is too.”
Megan Thee Stallion was born Megan Jovon Ruth Pete to Holly Thomas and Joseph Pete, Jr.
Soon after Megan Pete’s birth, her father went to prison. He was released eight years later and was killed during Megan Pete’s freshman year of high school.
Her mother was a rapper who performed under the name Holly-Wood.
She often brought Pete to recording sessions, and Pete credits her for her interest in and knowledge of rap.
Pete began rapping as a teenager, but her mother convinced her to wait to pursue a career in music until she was at least 21.
After graduating from high school in 2013 Pete enrolled at Prairie View A&M University, Texas, but later transferred to Texas Southern University, Houston.
In 2016 Pete released her first single, “Like a Stallion,” on SoundCloud, a music-sharing platform. She had adopted her alias, Megan Thee Stallion, after hearing men frequently refer to her as a stallion. She told Houstonia magazine in 2017:
“Since I was younger, probably about 15 or 16, I’ve always had the same body. Older guys would always be like, ‘Oh, you a stallion.’…Everybody pretty much took [the name] and ran with it, and then I put it as my main name on Twitter, and ever since then everybody’s just been calling me Stallion.”
Megan Thee Stallion started to gain through self-released mixtapes, including Rich Ratchet (2016) and Megan Mix (2017), and the EP Make It Hot (2017).
She also appeared in videos with other Houston rappers.
In 2018 Megan Thee Stallion became the first female artist to sign with 1501 Certified Entertainment, an independent record label based in Houston, and later that year she inked a contract with 300 Entertainment, a major label based in New York, to handle distribution.
She also released the mixtape Tina Snow, the name of her alter ego, whom she describes as a “more raw” version of herself.
The single “Big Ole Freak” (2019) was her breakout hit, charting on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number 65.
During Megan Thee Stallion’s rise, Holly Thomas, though initially skeptical of her daughter’s ribald lyrics, served as her manager, but she died from brain cancer in 2019.