GET YOUR YEEHAW ON WITH MEGAN THEE STALLION.
Everybody knows that the beauty of music is that it can elicit a plethora of emotional responses. Need a good cry? Queue up that sad songs playlist that we all secretly have. Need motivation to get through anything, from finals season to a particularly rough workout? Throw on any pop, electronic beat. Need a confidence booster? For that, look no further: Megan Thee Stallion, the 24-year-old rapper from Houston, Texas, will have you feeling on top of the world after playing just one of her fast-paced, pulsating rap masterpieces.
Megan Thee Stallion, real name Megan Pete, has been surrounded by music and rap her whole life. Her mother, Holly Thomas, who rapped under the name Holly-Wood in the early 2000s, would bring Pete into the studio with her when she was as young as seven to watch her record. This set the tone for Pete to progress into the rapper she is today.
In an interview with Vulture, Pete discussed the influence her mother had on her perception of rap, especially being a female in such a male-dominated industry. “My mom is the first female rapper I’ve ever known. I’m thinking, like, ‘Okay, yeah, this is normal. Everybody’s doing this,’” Pete explained in the interview.
Thomas began managing Pete when she entered college after seeing how serious her daughter was about rapping. In her first years of college, Pete became known around campus as “Thee Stallion” after rapping at parties and participating in cyphers. Her freestyle “Stalli Freestyle” quickly went viral after being posted on YouTube in 2017 and has racked up over two million views to date.
In 2017 Pete released her first EP entitled “Make It Hot,” but it wasn’t until the release of her second EP “Tina Snow” in June 2018 that the rapper began to gain an outpouring of mainstream attention. Like all of her music, the tracks on “Tina Snow” are pulsating and sexy, mixing hard trap beats with Pete’s impeccable world play and quick tongue. Pete has stated multiple times that she’s not afraid to talk about sexuality and her music is a clear reflection of this.
In November 2018, Pete was the first female rapper to be signed to 300 Entertainment, a label that represents other prominent artists like Young Thug and Famous Dex. However, while Pete’s professional career was on an incline, her personal life had taken a turn. Pete’s mother had been suffering from a brain tumor and passed away suddenly in March. Pete’s relationship with Thomas was not only important in her personal life but in her professional career as well, making the loss extremely hard.
What’s so interesting about Pete is her inability to be labeled. She’s a self-proclaimed freak but is also an intelligent businesswoman; she’s one of the hottest up-and-coming rappers yet still attends college (mainly online) at Southern Texas University; she’s an independent woman who still maintains close relationships with family and friends. Pete embraces her womanhood and uses it to her advantage: Being a woman in such a male-dominated industry makes her stronger.
With her first album under 300 Entertainment entitled “Fever” set to be released in May, there’s no telling how quickly Pete will shoot up the ranks of stardom. Tread carefully when listening to her music, though: If playing just one Megan Thee Stallion song will automatically boost your confidence from a one to a 10, listening to a full new album may blow you through the roof. But I, for one, am excited for it do so.
Lucie Turkel is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at lucie.turkel@uconn.edu.
