Megan Thee Stallion

In June, she released a 10-song EP under the label titled Tina Snow. The EP was named after her alter ego, "Tina Snow," who she describes as "a more raw version" of herself. She stated in an interview with Mic.com, that she is not afraid to talk about sexuality, nor does she feel boxed in to either the "intelligent" or "freak" dichotomy. The EP was positively received by critics. Eric Torres of Pitchfork.com wrote: "she provided plenty of freak anthems with quotable lyrics to wield against ain’t-shit men" and Revolt referred to her flow as "effortless". Nandi Howard of The Fader referred to her ability to rap with "electrifying pace and precision". 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.

2019-present: Fever and Suga

On January 22, 2019, Megan released "Big Ole Freak" as a single from her EP, Tina Snow, and also filmed a music video for the track. The single, "Is It Love This Time", is sampled throughout the single. On April 15, "Big Ole Freak" charted at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 giving Megan her first chart entry, with it later peaking at number 65 on the Hot 100.

Megan Thee Stallion released her second mixtape, Fever, on May 17, 2019. The album received generally positive reviews. Taylor Crumpton of Pitchfork rated the album 8/10 and wrote in the review, "Megan's delivery of perfectly executed bars are comparable to successions from a fully automatic machine gun; a carefully studied aim of fiery stanzas that could only be carried by a rapper with extensive knowledge of the genre's early practices of battle rap." The album was selected as a NYT Critic's Pick, and reviewer Jon Caramanica wrote, "Before this album, Megan Thee Stallion's standout moments have come via radio-appearance freestyles ? a familiar proving ground for rappers of an earlier generation, and one where she has thrived... Fever, however, is more cohesive, polished and forceful than her previous releases. The production ? especially the songs by Lil Ju ("Ratchet", "Cash ____", "Realer") ? is ominous and spacious, a foundation that's sturdy and not distracting." Writing for Fader, Amani Bin Shikhan stated in a review, "That's the magic of her appeal, and the magic of Fever: listening to Thee Stallion feels like listening to the advice of your most entertaining girlfriend, lovingly scolding you to both get your shit together and fuck it up for a real one."

On May 21, 2019, she released the music video for the opening album track, "Realer", which is inspired by the blaxploitation film style. On June 20, 2019, she was announced to be one of eleven artists included in the 12th edition of XXL's "Freshman Class". Her freestyle in the cypher was praised. In July 2019, Chance The Rapper released his debut studio album, The Big Day, and Thee Stallion was featured on the track "Handsome".

On August 2, 2019, A Black Lady Sketch Show premiered on HBO; the show uses Megan Thee Stallion's song "Hot Girl" in the opening title sequence. On August 9, 2019, Thee Stallion released the single "Hot Girl Summer", featuring fellow American rapper Nicki Minaj and singer Ty Dolla Sign. The song, an ode to her viral "hot girl summer" meme, came about after an Instagram Live session between the two rappers. It peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Thee Stallion's first top 20 hit, and topped the Rolling Stone 100. The week thereafter, she featured on Quality Control compilation album, Quality Control: Control the Streets, Volume 2, on the track "Pastor", alongside Quavo and City Girls.

In September, Megan Thee Stallion signed a management deal with Roc Nation. In October, she created and starred in a horror series, Hottieween, directed by Teyana Taylor. In December, she performed a NPR Tiny Desk Concert.

In January 2020, Megan Thee Stallion released the single "Diamonds" with singer Normani, for the soundtrack of the superhero film Birds of Prey (2020). That same month, she released the single "B.I.T.C.H.". and featured on "Fkn Around" by Phony Ppl. She appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on February 13, performing "B.I.T.C.H.". In March, she announced that her debut album, Suga, was delayed as a result of her attempting to renegotiate her contract with 1501 Certified Entertainment. She started the hashtag "#FreeTheeStallion" to raise awareness of the issue, noting that "[she did not] understand some of the verbiage" when she signed the initial contract with 1501.

On March 6, 2020, Megan Thee Stallion released the EP, Suga, against the wishes of 1501, after a judge granted a temporary restraining order against the label. The EP received mainly positive critical reception and has a 80/100 score on review aggregator Metacritic. That same month, the song "Savage" from the EP went viral on TikTok, when popular user Keara Wilson used it for a dance challenge video, which racked up 15.7 million views and 2.4 million likes as of March 20, 2020. A remix featuring Beyoncé was released on April 29, 2020. The song became Thee Stallion's first top 10 hit in the United States shortly after the remix's release and also helped boost Suga's sales, propelling it up to number 7 on the Billboard 200. Proceeds from the song went to a Houston nonprofit, Bread of Life, which provides disaster relief for residents affected by COVID-19.

Artistry

Megan Thee Stallion is known for her confidence, sensuality, and explicit lyrics. She presents her sexuality throughout her lyrics, videos, and live performances. In an interview with Pitchfork she stated, "It's not just about being sexy, it's about being confident and me being confident in my sexuality."

In an interview with Rolling Stone she noted, "I don't feel like we ever really had a female rapper come from Houston or Texas and shut shit down. So that's where I'm coming from."

She cites Pimp C, Lil Kim, Biggie Smalls, Three 6 Mafia, and Beyoncé as her biggest influences.

Public image

Alter egos

In multiple interviews, Megan Thee Stallion has referred to herself as Tina Snow, one of her alter egos and also the name of her debut EP, Tina Snow. Tina Snow was influenced by Pimp C's alias Tony Snow, and has similar confidence and an unapologetic sexually dominant delivery.

"Hot Girl Meg" is another alter ego who is described as embodying Megan Thee Stallion's carefree and outgoing side, which she compares to a "college, party girl." Megan Thee Stallion stated that she introduced "Hot Girl Meg" on her album, Fever.

On her Instagram, Megan Thee Stallion has also referred to herself as "Thee Hood Tyra Banks" while promoting her song "Pull up Late" from her EP Make It Hot.

Hot Girl Summer

Megan originated the viral catchphrase "hot girl summer" on social media. She first used the phrase in a tweet on April 14, 2018. It later appeared on the Fever album cover, which read, "She's thee HOT GIRL and she's bringing THEE HEAT." She defined the term as "...women and men being unapologetically them, just having a good-ass time, hyping up their friends, doing you." She has applied to trademark the term. A song of the same name was released on August 9, 2019.

Personal life

Megan Thee Stallion's mother, Holly Thomas, died in March 2019 from a longstanding cancerous brain tumor and her grandmother died in the same month. As well as acting as her daughter's manager, Thomas had influenced Megan Thee Stallion's decision to study Health Administration and also helped foster her wish to establish assisted-living facilities in her hometown of Houston, Texas.

Discography

Mixtapes

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Tours

Supporting

• Legendary Nights Tour (with Meek Mill & Future) (2019)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

• Megan Thee Stallion on AllMusic
• Megan Thee Stallion on Instagram