The Evolution of Megan Thee Stallion

Megan Jovon Ruth Pete was born in San Antonio, Texas on Feb. 15, 1995, to Holly Thomas. Shortly after she was born, she moved to Houston, where she was raised.

Megan’s love for music comes from her mother. Growing up, Thomas rapped under the name “Holly-Wood” and introduced her daughter to the rap world. As a result, Megan fell in love with hip-hop and started writing her own rhymes. Her mother, however, required that young Megan wait until she turned 21 to pursue the rap life.

After graduating from high school, Megan enrolled at Prairie View A&M University, where she started uploading videos of herself freestyling, and rapping in cyphers. These videos helped grow her social media influence and she started to gain a following on the internet.

Megan first started releasing music in 2016, putting out mixtapes on her SoundCloud such as Rich Rachet in 2016 and Megan Mix in 2017. Her first official release was the Make It Hot EP.

In 2018, Megan signed with 1501 Certified Entertainment, an independent record label in Houston, becoming the first female rapper signed to the label. It was founded by former MLB player Carl Crawford.

The project that increased her notoriety was 2018's Tina Snow, which featured her most popular single at the time, “Big Ole Freak.” The hit single was her first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

In March 2019 Megan’s mother, Holly Thomas, passed away after being diagnosed with brain cancer. In an emotional Instagram post Megan wrote, “The best mom in the whole world. The strongest woman on the planet. I can’t even put complete sentences together rn RIP mama.”

The Houston rapper’s 2019 single, “Hot Girl Summer,” featuring Ty Dolla Sign and Nicki Minaj became a huge hit thanks to the viral meme. The track and the meme officially became the summer anthem for all women at the time. The track eventually peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Megan voiced frustrations with her label 1501 Certified Entertainment and attempted to negotiate a way out of her contract so she could release her much anticipated debut album.

Before the release of her debut album, Megan dropped the EP, Suga, which featured the single, “Savage,” which instantly became a hit on the popular social media app, TikTok. The song eventually went to a whole new level when fellow Houston native, Beyoncé, hopped on the remix of the track.

On July 15, 2020, after attending a house party at Kylie Jenner’s house with Tory Lanez and her then-friend and assistant Kelsey Harris, Megan was shot in both of her feet. Originally claiming that the wounds were from stepping on glass, the “Savage” rapper later accused Lanez of shooting her feet. Later that year, Lanez was charged with shooting Megan.

Four months after the incident, Megan released her debut studio album Good News which featured the popular songs, “Cry Baby,” “Body,” and “Girls in the Hood.” The opening track, “Shots Fired,” is a diss towards Lanez and samples the classic 1995 Notorious B.I.G. song, “Who Shot Ya?”

During her rise in the music industry, Megan still worked to get her degree from Texas Southern University, eventually graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Health Administration. She walked the stage in December 2021.

During an April 2022 interview with Gayle King, the Houston rapper opened up about the 2020 shooting and her relationship with Tory Lanez. She explained in detail what happened the night of the shooting. But, she also denied having an intimate relationship with Lanez, which turned out to be true.

In August 2022, Megan released her sophomore studio album Traumazine which included the hit track, “Plan B.”

In November 2022, Megan graced the cover of Forbes magazine, becoming the first Black woman to land the famed “30 Under 30" cover. Forbes estimated that Megan earned $13 million in 2022.

After months of delays, the Tory Lanez felony assault trial finally began on December 12, 2022 with opening statements. After weeks of testimony from Megan and her ex-friend and assistant, Kelsey Harris, Lanez was found guilty of all charges which included discharging a firearm with gross negligence, assault with a semiautomatic firearm that caused bodily injury and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. He faces a maximum of 23 years in prison.