Music

Beauty, brains, and braggadocio: 7 fast facts about Megan Thee Stallion

Published on July 9, 2019 06:37PM EDT

It's an exciting time to be a female rapper, with the future of the "femcee" brighter than ever. Among the current crop of powerhouses are chameleon and veteran Nicki Minaj, reality-star-turned-artist Cardi B, Miami duo City Girls, rage queen Rico Nasty, rapper and songstress Lizzo, the multitalented Kodie Shane, and more. But few are experiencing the type of moment rising star Megan Thee Stallion is right now.

And for good reason. Megan is no stranger to viral fame, having first burst onto the scene with hits like "Big Ole Freak" and her "Stalli Freestyle." She's also a proponent of eco-friendly initiatives and is a big fan of anime. With the 24-year-old making her late-night television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live this week, it's a perfect time to help introduce Meg to the uninitiated. Below are seven fast facts about her career.

1. She takes her craft seriously and began writing raps at 16

You could say rapping is in Megan's blood. Having watched her mother, Holly Thomas, spit rhymes under the name Holly-Wood while tagging along on trips to the studio, Megan resolved to be like her. At the age of 16, she began penning her own raps, which were reportedly so explicit that they had Thomas clutching her pearls.

But after seeing how serious her daughter was about music, Thomas began managing Megan, marking the beginning of a promising career.

Megan Thee Stallion, Holly Thomas — Megan Thee Stallion/Instagram

2. Her nickname “Thee Stallion” comes from her height

One of the first questions asked by many prospective Megan Thee Stallion fans—or Hotties, as they are so lovingly called—is where exactly "Thee Stallion" comes from. And every now and then, a contrarian will attempt to pull a "gotcha!" by pointing out how the dictionary definition of a stallion is a male horse.

But that's not Megan's experience with the word.

One can assume "Thee" is a stylistic spelling choice, but "Stallion" comes from the rapper's Amazonian stature. The H-town hottie stands at about 5'10" (depending on whom you ask; it may in fact be 5'11"), and the combination of said height and beauty earned her the moniker as a teen.

3. She wants you to know Houston is her city

Some pretty legendary rappers have come out of the South, and Houston is no exception. Scarface, Bun B, and Megan's favorite, Pimp C (whose alter ego Tony Snow inspired her alter ego Tina Snow), are among the city's greats, and Megan is aiming to join them—and rep her city while doing so.

Speaking to Rolling Stone in March, she had this to say about her beloved Houston:

"I feel like I have to put on for my city because we have so many legends and so many greats. But I don't feel like we ever really had a female rapper come from Houston or Texas and shut s— down. So that's where I'm coming from with it."

4. She is out to save the planet

One thing you'll quickly learn about Megan Thee Stallion is that she is a woman of many talents and interests. And one of those interests includes saving the Earth.

Indeed, if you peep the Stallion-in-Chief's Instagram and Twitter accounts, you'll often see her posting about ways in which she's trying to reduce her negative impact on the environment (such as using a reusable water bottle and switching to almond milk over cow's milk) and organize people around her to do the same. One of the most exciting examples of this was her recently organizing a beach cleanup in Santa Monica, Calif. She also promised to organize similar cleanups in the future.

5. She is a multitalented scholar

While the braggadocios femcee is an expert rapper, she is also in the process of getting her degree in health administration.

Even during her meteoric rise in music, Megan has grounded herself by attending Texas Southern University, where she is currently in her third year. When asked by New York magazine about her studies, Megan elaborated on her goal to open assisted-living facilities:

"Just watching [my grandmother] take care of [my great-grandmother] made me want to create a facility for people who are older to go and have somebody help them with their end-of-life care," she said.

6. When she’s not lighting the world on fire with her lyrics, she’s probably watching your favorite anime

This is perhaps our favorite "hey, Megan is just like you!" factoid. The H-Town hottie has not been shy about interacting with her fans, at one point letting them know that she is a huge fan of anime. She's also sported a split red-and-white hairstyle inspired by the My Hero Academia character Shoto Todoroki, and routinely shares what her favorite anime shows and characters are.

7. Megan is a big horror movie stan and wants to make horror movies of her own

Megan loves to keep people on their toes, and what better way to do that than by writing awesome horror movies?

Yes, Thee Stallion is a huge horror movie buff and dreams of breathing new life into the genre by doing away with "predictable" and "underwhelming" storylines. In fact, last December, Megan informed Refinery29 that she was currently penning her own horror film. With her work ethic, we know she'll get it done, and we look forward to watching Big Ole Scream in a theater near us real soon.