Megan Thee Stallion (1995-…) is an American rapper and songwriter. Her music is known for sexually explicit lyrics and themes of female empowerment. She has recorded with such other musicians as Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, and Doja Cat. In 2021, Megan and Beyoncé became the first pair of women to win a Grammy Award for best rap performance for the remix of Megan’s song “Savage.” The two women also shared a Grammy that year for best rap song for “Savage.” Megan also won a Grammy Award in 2021 for best new artist.
Megan Jovon Ruth Pete was born on Feb. 15, 1995, in San Antonio, Texas. She grew up in Houston. Pete’s mother, a rap musician, introduced her to music at an early age. Pete began writing raps in her teens. She attended Pearland High School in Houston’s suburbs. She was a member of the drill and dance teams and served as captain of the cheerleading squad. In 2013, she entered the historically Black university Prairie View A&M, northwest of Houston. While in college, Pete began rapping at music events in Houston.
Pete left Prairie View A&M University without completing a degree to pursue a music career. She released her first single, “Like a Stallion,” in 2016. Several months later, she uploaded her first mixtape, titled Rich Ratchet, to the music-sharing website SoundCloud. In hip-hop culture, a mixtape is an independently produced recording, often distributed for free. In 2017, she released her first EP, titled Make It Hot. EP is short for extended play, a collection of recordings somewhat shorter than a full-length album. That same year, she shared her video “Stalli Freestyle” on the video-sharing website YouTube, as well as various social media sites. The video went viral (spread quickly over the internet).
In 2018, Pete signed with the record label 1501 Certified Entertainment. She released an EP titled Tina Snow, a name under which Pete sometimes performs. Later in 2018, Pete signed with the record label 300 Entertainment. She then chose her stage name, Megan Thee Stallion. The name comes from Houston-area slang for a tall, attractive woman. Megan is 5 feet 10 inches (1.8 meters) tall.
In 2019, Megan Thee Stallion released the mixtape Fever. That same year, she debuted her first single, “Hot Girl Summer.” The song features the American rappers Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla Sign. She signed with Roc Nation, the record label of the rapper Jay-Z. In 2020, Megan released the EP Suga, which was met with critical acclaim. The album featured the hit “Savage,” which reached number one on Billboard magazine’s “Hot 100” chart. “Savage” was featured prominently on the social media service TikTok, where performing a choreographed dance to the chorus became a popular challenge.
