via Comopolitan UK
Think back to the days when MTS wasn’t a global star – horrible, right? Luckily, it only took her a matter of years to become the icon we know today. Here’s how she did it...
LATE 1990s
MUM’S THE WORD
Megan Thee Stallion, now 25, would be the first to tell you that you can’t discuss her career without crediting her mother, Holly Thomas, who was a rapper in the late ’90s and early Noughties and went by the name Holly-Wood. In a 2019 interview, Megan said, “My mom is the first female rapper I’ve ever known.”
2010
A STAR IS BORN
Megan starts writing her own bars at 14. While she was in the studio with her mum, she’d put songs together in her head and practise in secret. It wasn’t until she was 18 that she shared her work with her mum – because of the X-rated language.
2016
GOING VIRAL
While attending Prairie View A&M University, a little-known rapper from Houston named Megan Jovon Ruth Pete starts uploading freestyle videos on social media. In 2016, a clip of her out-rapping two male opponents went viral on YouTube, and she was on the path to greatness.
2018
THE FUTURE IS FEMALE
Megan was signed by 300 Entertainment in November 2018 and uploaded a video of the day to Instagram. The label is responsible for big-name artists such as Young Thug, but MTS was the first woman it had signed since it was founded in 2012.
2017
NO ONE-HIT WONDER
A year after that video, Megan uploads Stalli Freestyle to YouTube and goes viral again, racking up six-figure views in weeks. The video is still online, in all its glory. One comment says it all: “2.5 years ago she was shouting out Beyoncé... Now she is collabing with her.”
Big talents needs big earrings
2019
TWERK IT
Things kicked up a gear in 2019, when MTS released Big Ole Freak. After she posted a video of herself twerking at a gas station, the #bigolefreak challenge was born, which saw people all over the world twerking to the song on social media.
APRIL 2020
GOOD TIMES
This was “The Year Of Megan Thee Stallion”. She started 2020 with the release of Savage, which went double platinum. A few weeks after it came out, the Beyoncé remix landed and went viral on TikTok, making MTS a household name.
AUGUST 2020
GREATEST HIT
The impact of WAP can’t be exaggerated; as a feminist anthem and an example of lyrical genius. So it stands to reason that Megan Thee Stallion featured on the hit Cardi B single that we’ve still got on repeat today.
WORDS DANIELLA SCOTT. PHOTOGRAPHS INSTAGRAM @THEESTALLION, GETTY IMAGES, @THEESTALLION/TWITTER, YOUTUBE
