Hip Hop Awards ‘20: Nominee Megan Thee Stallion’s Meteoric Rise
Hip hop loves a good come-up story and Megan Thee Stallion’s rise from a college student to chart topper is the feel good story of 2020. The Houston hot girl blazed into the mainstream’s consciousness with her viral hit “Big Ole Freak,” from her Tina Snow EP and she’s been burning up the charts ever since.
Along the way, the anime-loving 25-year-old has stayed true to her Texas roots while pursuing a degree in health administration from Texas Southern university and racking up co-signs from the rap elite. And in spite of many personal challenges and family losses, Megan kept pushing and hitting new career milestones.
Here’s a look back at some of the major moments from the Houston rapper and BET Hip Hop Awards nominee’s meteoric rise to cultural force to be reckoned with.
The Cyphers That Put Her On The Map
Megan's appearance on the “Houston Cypher” is legendary As the sole female rapper out of ten MCs, she is the standout from the jump. A year later, Megan followed that with her “Stalli Freestyle,” and she’s been on fire ever since. Megan is unapologetically leading the way while repping as a Southern Black woman.
Fever
Tina Snow was a hint of what Megan was capable of and her Fever mixtape, further solidified Megan’s formidable presence in music. The record proved that she is more than deserving of all the hype. The 14-track mixtape showed off her skills. It also exhibited how her music resonants with women because she freely and unapologetically expresses her sensuality with sex-positive anthems that preaches self-affirmation and body positivity.
“Hot Girl Summer”
Slang is currency in hip-hop and Megan has been a master at maximizing it to her full benefit. Look no further than how she created a cultural moment with “Hot Girl Summer.” Megan introduced the phrase through Fever, and it took like wildfire from there. Social media ran with it until it became the manifesto of 2019. Riding on the phenomen, Megan released her “Hot Girl Summer” featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign. The single secured her place at the top as the queen of the summer 2019 and “Hot Girl Summer” was immortalized in the pop culture lexicon.
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“Savage Remix”
The hip-hop scene has transformed a lot since it was first founded but if there’s one tenet that still stands it’s the co-sign. Since her mainstream rise, Megan has netted collaborations with Juicy J and Nicki Minaj and counts Q-Tip as a mentor. Following her reign over the 2019 summer season, the Houston rapper revealed she signed a management deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. So, 2020 was already shaping up to propel Megan to even higher heights. But no one could’ve anticipated her “Savage Remix” featuring Beyoncé. It stormed the charts to sit atop the Billboard Hot 100. Bow down.
“WAP”
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion spearheaded another cultural moment with “WAP,” in August, an fearless three-minute ode about female sexual prowess. It became the anthem of our pandemic summer and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the biggest first-week streams for any song in 2020. “WAP” was also lauded as a cultural moment for women in rap after sparking widespread discussion about sensuality and who’s allowed to freely express it. The single flipped the script in a genre where women have historically been met (and still are) with sexism and treated as a conquest for sport.
