I am no different from most music fans out there in that I am interested in the very popular performers of our day. Like you, I look forward to certain weeks when Weekly Music Commentary features a very hot artist. This week is one of the big ones. Weekly Music Commentary features dynamic rapper, singer and songwriter Megan Thee Stallion.
Fresh off an appearance on Saturday Night Live, Megan is one of the premier entertainers of our day. However, that televised performance will only help to enhance an already large fan base. Of course, like most popular artists not everything has been rosy. On July 15, 2020, Megan Thee Stallion stated that she had suffered gunshot wounds and that she had undergone surgery to remove the bullets. It was an emotional event for the young entertainer, one that left more than physical scars. We will examine the shooting and discuss the various violent occurrences that plague popular artist today. First, as always it would be good to look into Megan Thee Stallion’s start, and how she became one of the top artists of hip hop today.
Megan Jovon Ruth Pete was born on February 15, 1995 in Bexar County, Texas, and raised in the South Park neighborhood of Houston. Her mother, Holly Aleece Thomas, rapped under the name “Holly-Wood” and would bring her daughter with her to recording sessions instead of putting Pete in daycare. Pete and her mother moved to Pearland, Texas, a suburb of Houston, when she was 14 and lived there until she was 18. Pete began writing raps at age 16. When she told her mother that she wanted to rap, Holly required that Pete wait until she was 21 to pursue rapping as a career.
I found it quite interesting that Megan is a second generation rapper. As I started to think about that fact, I wondered if there are any third generation rappers. I was a teenager as rap music made it’s way into the radios of the world. I am a grandfather now, therefore there are many rappers who also are grandparents. We live at a time when a grandmother or grandfather might encourage a grandchild to pursue rap music as a career. It’s not out of the question since old granddad might be a hip hop legend himself.
Still, there might be some limits. Even Megan’s mother commented that her lyrics were too suggestive for her young age. Yes, I can hear that coming from a parent despite their own familiarity with the genre. Young Megan Thee Stallion graduated from Pearland High School in 2013.
While she was a student at Prairie View A&M University, a clip of Megan battling against male opponents in a “cypher” went viral. The exposure helped her gain a larger digital presence and following on social media. She garnered fans by posting her freestyles on her Instagram while in college. She refers to her fans as “hotties”, and credits her hyperactive fan base for her early success. She adopted the stage name “Megan Thee Stallion” because she was referred to as a stallion during adolescence due to her height (5’10”) and “thick”, large-boned body frame.
At this time Megan Thee Stallion would move from battles and college contests to something with more substance. Yes, she would now start to deliver professional music. In April 2016, Megan Thee Stallion released her debut single “Like A Stallion”, which would later serve as the lead and titular single of the SoundCloud-exclusive, non-commercial mixtape of the same name. She followed this project with similarly released mixtapes such as Rich Ratchet in late 2016, and Megan Mix in early 2017.
Megan Thee Stallion released her professional solo debut with the commercially released mixtape Make It Hot. The EP’s 2017 single “Last Week in HTx” became her most successful single during this time, amassing several million views on YouTube. In 2017, she released the song, “Stalli (Freestyle)”, as a rework of rapper XXXTentacion’s “Look At Me!”. In early 2018, Megan Thee Stallion signed with 1501 Certified Entertainment, an independent label in Houston owned by former baseball player Carl Crawford. She was the first female rapper signed to the label. She then performed at SXSW in March 2018. In June 2018, Megan Thee Stallion released a 10-song extended play titled Tina Snow under the label.
The EP was named after her alter ego, “Tina Snow,” who she describes as “a more raw version” of herself. Many artist will use an alter ego for performance purposes. Remember Beyonce’s Sasha Fierce. Eric Torres of Pitchfork wrote: “she provided plenty of freak anthems with quotable lyrics to wield against ain’t-shit men” Megan said in an interview with Mic that she is not afraid to talk about sexuality, nor does she feel boxed in to either the “intelligent” or “freak” dichotomy. Remember I mentioned that Megan’s mother thought her lyrics were too suggestive. However, the picture is a little clearer as to why her lyrics might be unseemly and sexually explicit to many. In November 2018, Megan Thee Stallion announced that she had signed with 300 Entertainment, making her the first female rapper to be signed by the label.
Just last year Megan Thee Stallion’s career really took off. She was an artist in big demand for collaborations. She has worked with Nicki Minaj, Ty Dolla $ign, City Girls and Quavo. Even major artist Beyonce and Cardi B have worked with Megan Thee Stallion. In January 2020, Megan Thee Stallion released the single “Diamonds” with singer Normani, for the soundtrack of the superhero film Birds of Prey. The major awards and nominations have started to come as a result of her high-profile work. Megan Thee Stallion has become one of the most recognizable entertainers of our day. Remember, she’s just getting started.
Earlier this year we mentioned that Megan Thee Stallion was injured by gunshots. Initially, her statement countered an earlier TMZ report that she had injured her foot on broken glass the Sunday prior when she was in a car with rapper Tory Lanez and an unidentified woman; the car was pulled over by police and Lanez was arrested on gun charges following a vehicle search. However, the details became clearer and the story changed dramatically. The following month, Megan claimed that Lanez was the person who shot her, saying that “I didn’t tell the police what happened immediately right there because I didn’t want to die.” Lanez has vehemently denied Megan’s account of the shooting. On October 8, 2020, Lanez was charged with shooting Megan Thee Stallion by Los Angeles Country Prosecutors. An arraignment for Lanez was scheduled on October 13, however, it was delayed to November 18, after Lanez’s attorney requested a continuance. A protective order has since been issued against Lanez; he is to stay at least 100 yards away from Megan and not contact her. He was also ordered to surrender any guns he owns.
Since this is an ongoing legal matter, I won’t make any statements or draw any conclusions about the event. However, Megan Thee Stallion has commented further on the incident. In an op-ed for The New York Times, published on October 13, 2020, Megan addressed the shooting writing: “Black women are still constantly disrespected and disregarded in so many areas of life. I was recently the victim of an act of violence by a man. After a party, I was shot twice as I walked away from him. We were not in a relationship. Truthfully, I was shocked that I ended up in that place”.
We all can experience violence at any time today, regardless of our economic or social status. As a parent, I am very concerned for the safety of my children, even though they are adults like Megan Thee Stallion. No one want’s their children to experience pain of any kind. Therefore I can sympathize with Megan’s family and have concern for her as well. Psychologically, events like these can be problematic for years to come. Hopefully young Megan Thee Stallion can continue her rise in the music industry. It appears that she is pushing ahead. We can only hope for the best.