Megan Thee Stallion: The Founder of Hot Girl Summer

Maddie Bogan

Rap/hip-hop Journalist 

Not many years have passed since Megan Thee Stallion had her breakthrough, but her impact is guaranteed to last an exceptionally long time. Megan Thee Stallion was born in San Antonio, Texas, in February 1995 as Megan Jovon Ruth Pete. Shortly after, her mom, Holly Thomas, moved to Houston, where she spent much of her life. A lot of Megan’s musical influence actually stems from her mom, as Thomas was a rapper known as Holly-Wood. earned a degree in health administration. While she was pursuing her studies, she began to explore music and freestyle rap, more specifically, uploading videos online that quickly garnered attention.

Megan Thee Stallion dropped her introductory single “Like a Stallion” in 2016, and her debut EP Make It Hot included a song called “Last Week in H Tx,” which trended on YouTube. In 2018, she was historically the first female rapper to sign with the Houston-owned label, 1501 Certified Entertainment. In that same year, she released “Tina Snow,” an EP inspired by her alter ego. 2019 was the year that she put out “Big Ole Freak” as a single. This was a milestone in her career at the time because it made an entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She also started getting notices from other artists, working with rappers like Chance the Rapper, City Girls, and Ty Dolla Sign. 

In 2020, Megan discovered that her label, 1501 Certified, was withholding a significant portion of her earnings through a heavily skewed contract. When she pushed back, wanting to renegotiate, they prevented the release of her debut album, Suga. Megan then filed a lawsuit, which granted her a temporary restraining order, allowing her to release the EP on March 6. As a result, the album blew up, especially the song “Savage,” which became a viral dance on TikTok thanks to dancer Keara Wilson.

Megan Thee Stallion’s fame grew around that year. She started receiving many accolades, like earning her spot on the Time 100 list and getting nominations at events like the BET Hip Hop Awards, the People’s Choice Awards, and more. 2020 was also the year that the Black Lives Matter movement arose, so she was a proud participant in the cause. Her appearance on Saturday Night Live reflected this, as there were many aspects of the iconic performance that shed light on the mistreatment of Black men and women alike. 

As the years progressed, Megan put out more projects such as Good News and Something for Thee Hotties. She also made several features, like on the “34+35” remix by Ariana Grande, “WAP” by Cardi B, and “Sweetest Pie” by Dua Lipa. At this point, it would have been considered outlandish if anyone didn’t know who Megan Thee Stallion was, since she was making her mark in so many ways. She eventually dropped 1501 Certified due to the multiple issues she underwent with them, and she did her first-ever tour in 2024. Additionally, she has done several acting gigs. Most recently, her portrayals of Zidler in the Broadway musical Moulin Rouge and Denise in Tina Fey’s newest comedy, The Rise and Fall of Reggie Dinkins. 

Overall, Megan Thee Stallion has contributed her unique vision to the entertainment industry for quite a few years, collaborating with all types of artists and creators to show off her wide range of talents. Not only that, but she’s also responsible for making so many women feel empowered and unapologetically themselves through her discography and more.