How Did Megan Thee Stallion Become Famous?

Megan Thee Stallion is THEE female rapper everyone is talking about. Since releasing her first Hot 100 single "Big Ole' Freak" in 2018, the artist has risen to become a leading lady in hip-hop. Her goofy antics, cocky lyrics, and relatable persona have made all the "hotties" (aka Megan's fans) fall in love.

Rising to fame in just two years, Megan Thee Stallion has already collaborated with Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and the oh-so coveted collaborator of every artist's dreams, Queen Bey. She is solely responsible for 2019's "hot girl summer" trend, a brand ambassador for Rihanna's Savage Fenty, and a global brand ambassador for Revlon Cosmetics.

On top of all this, the young rapper manages her career while in college at Texas Southern University, where she is working towards a bachelor's degree in health administration.

So how did a young female rapper from Houston become famous? Let's take a look at the star's rise.

Born Megan Pete, the rapper first picked up her stage name Megan Thee Stallion after being called a "stallion" growing up because of her height, looks, and personality. Growing up in Texas, Megan's mother Holly Thomas was a rapper under the name Holly-Wood. She would take a young Megan to the studio instead of daycare, according to an interview with Vulture. With her mother as her inspiration, Megan Thee Stallion started writing raps as a teenager.

Those raps turned into viral social media videos and freestyles. Her 2017 freestyle "Stalli" has amassed over 7 million views and was arguably the beginning of Thee Stallion. With social media on her side, the rapper released her second EP Tina Snow in June 2018, her first project to chart on the Billboard 200.

The breakout single was "Big Ole' Freak" which brought more rap fanatics to her fan base, the "hotties."

In March 2019, Megan Thee Stallion lost her mother Holly Thomas to a battle with brain cancer, according to People. Her grandmother also passed shortly after. As Megan told People, her late mom inspires the rapper to stay in school and get her degree, despite her flourishing music career. Fans rallied to comfort the rapper as she navigated her grief and quick rise to fame at the same time.

Just two months later in May 2019, Megan Thee Stallion released her debut mixtape Fever, which included a song with DaBaby called "Cash S**t." The song opens with one of Megan's signature lines, "Real hot girl s**t," sparking a summer of hot girl antics. The Houston rapper spread the hot girl summer trend quickly, partying it up with other celebs and teaching them how to "drive the boat," a phrase coined by the rapper that refers to pouring a bottle of D'usse down someone's throat.

The hot girl summer of 2019 led to Megan Thee Stallion's collaboration with fellow rap queen, Nicki Minaj. The single, featuring Ty Dolla $ign, was appropriately called "Hot Girl Summer."

This would be the first of many collaborations to come for the hot girl.

The next big career move for Megan Thee Stallion came with her collaboration with Beyoncé for the "Savage" remix. The single originally came off the rapper's 2020 EP Suga and took off as a single, thanks in part to TikTok-ers who created a viral dance to the song.

The EP release didn't come without a fight. According to Rolling Stone, the artist had sued her label 1501 Certified Entertainment over her contract being "unconscionable." The label had tried to prevent the rapper from releasing the project, a fight she won in court. Megan Thee Stallion took to Instagram to say, "I will stand up for myself and not allow two men to bully me, I am NO ONES PROPERTY."

Shortly after the "Savage" single went viral, Beyonce joined her fellow Texan for the ultimate Houston duo remix. The feature helped Megan Thee Stallion get her first No. 1 hit.

Following that achievement in the summer of 2020, Megan Thee Stallion became a topic of conversation after allegedly being shot by rapper Tory Lanez, according to TMZ. The rapper has addressed suffering gunshot wounds in her feet via Instagram, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Despite these challenges, the rapper pushes forward with more music, including a collaboration with Cardi B. 

Megan Thee Stallion told XXL in 2018 that she will be the next "big female artist of this generation" and as her quick rise to fame shows, she might not be wrong.