She got it from her mama.
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My mom is the first female rapper Ive ever known.
Im thinking, like,Okay, yeah, this is normal.
Everybodys doing this, Megan, now 24, says.
As Holly-Wood rapped, she thought her daughter was coloring or watching TV.
Sipping tea at a lounge in Soho, Megan calls her mom the No.
1 Hottie, after the nickname for her fans.
Holly-Woods career lasted from 2001 to 2007, when she released music and tried to start her own label.
Megan describes her moms music as tougher, more gangsta than her own.
When Holly heard Megans sexier sound, she was surprised at how explicit it was.
At first, she was a little taken aback, like, Megan, where did this come from?
Why are you talking like that?
I cant believe you.
Holly started managing Megan in college when she saw her daughters seriousness.
Its about rubbing and riding, the give-and-take of a certain kind of craving.
Rihanna followed her on Instagram after the singles video dropped.
When shes not rapping, Megans studying health administration at Texas Southern University.
Im really doing everything between shows or at my house when I have downtime.
Im trying to get on Blackboard and catch up.
She just got out of the studio with Juicy J and plans to dropFeverin May.
And Im like, you’ve got the option to rap and go to school.
Shes like, No, thats not gonna last.
You shouldnt do that for a while.
She wound up giving me two incompletes.
I wanted to strangle this lady, but Im like, Okay, whatever maam.
Im gonna do whatever I gotta do to finish your classes.
I see it in neighborhoods all around Houston.
You got your people taking care of your people.
I want to give back; this is what Im gonna do.
So Im like, okay, look, we need some help.
So let me put some facilities around here so we can just take care of each other.
I love this idea of her being a rapper and you inheriting this from her.I literally did.
Growing up, I would steal her instrumentals.
And she would be like, Megan, have you seen my CDs?
And Im like, What are you talking about?
And I would be writing.
I dont know why I didnt even tell anybody in high school that I wanted to rap.
What do you think changed?
Was it just the opportunity to start over somewhere else?I just wanted it to be perfect.
And everybodys like, What?
No, you dont.
Im like 15 years old and this older dude is like, Damn, you a stallion.
Im like, Stop talking to me before you go to jail.
And hes like, How old are you?
Im like, Im 15!
So it couldve been Megan Thee Jailbait, but Megan Thee Stallion just works.
Your first big introduction was doing cyphers on campus.
So boom, thats viral on campus.
Then, maybe two years later, I did this Houston cypher.
My homeboy was like, Megan, I need you to come with me to this cypher.
And Im like, A cypher?
I aint going to that.
And he was like, No, for real, Megan.
Its gonna be lit, come on.
So I was like, All right, cool.
So Im like, Mom, can you take me to this cypher right quick?
And shes like, What?
And Im like, Yeah, can you drive me up to this cypher?
And shes like, All right, Megan.
Come on, lets go.
So she took me to the cypher.
She didnt even know what the hell I was about to do.
Oh my Then I just came and I killed it, and everybody was like, What?
So then that just went crazy, and Im like, Dang, yall like that?
I got some more.
Youve described yourself as being more of a sensual rapper, where your mom was more …Gangster rap.
Tell me more about that.My mom is a very strong woman, very tough lady.
She was really giving it to them real raw, but not like me though.
So with me Im like, Yeah, might have a little singing in there.
Ima ride your face a little bit, but no.
Im just definitely more of a lover.
She was just more gangster.
At first she was a little taken back, shes like, Megan, where did this come from?
Why are you talking like that?
I cant believe you.
Youre like, This is what you raised.This is what you raised me on.
So she was like, Well, yeah, I guess.
So now shes like, Okay, Megan, go hard.
Okay, you might go harder than that.
And Im like, Yeah, I can!
So shes definitely a Hottie.
The culture and competition of rap then feels so much different than what youre coming up in.
Right now we have Nicki, and Cardi, andNoname,Rico Nasty, etc.
None of us rap alike.
Back then, too, a lot of the ladies rapped in the same style.
Rico got her own lane.
I definitely have my own lane.
Noname has her own lane.Maliibuhas her own thing.
Everybody is just really lit, and I just really appreciate what everybody brings to the table.
I hate that I have to keep saying female rapper because youre a rapper.
Women have to be the best and then some.
A man can get on a track and literally make two noises and be the GOAT.
But I dont mind.
I love being a girl.
We gonna go hard anyway.
We were put on the Earth to go hard.
What is the craziest thing youve ever read about yourself?So I like anime, right?
And I posted my hair.
I likeMy Hero Academiaand Todoroki is my favorite character on there.
Look at how she look.
Why would she be watching this?
Im like, Dude, I cant watch cartoons because I got a big butt?
That dont make sense.
So Twitter was in a uproar because I like Todoroki.
It was really weird and they were really trying to say I dont watch it.
Suddenlytheyreexperts and theyre talking down to you.Im like, Dude, I got this.
I told you what I watch and I can give you the facts.
I want to hear, in your own words, how Big Ole Freak makes you feel.Just super sexy.
Very confident, very free.
I do that all the time.
It just makes me feel really sexy.
Everybody asks me, How did you get so confident?
Or how are you this?
How did you grow into this?
I know everything that I like.
I know everything that I dont like.
I know what Ima take from people.
I know what I dont want to take.
And I feel like that makes me confident because Im full of my own good energy.
I feel like Im the shit.
Hot Girl Meg is the party girl, the polished girl, the turn-up queen.
Youll meet her onFever.
Megan Thee Stallion is just the one with all the sex appeal; she real chill.
And just Megan, Megans the student, the daughter, the granddaughter, the friend.
Lets talk about your Houston roots.
What do you love and hate about Texas?I dont hate anything about Texas.
I love my state.
I love my area.
And its so big.
Dallas, Houston, Austin, thats a market right there.
I already know its gonna be a party.
Its just really good energy every time.
Its just so much culture.
We got Beyonce and Solange.
Im sure you saw Solange twerking to Big Ole Freak.I was like, Girl, Solange.
We can be besties, Solange.
We need that collab ASAP.
But no, we got the SUC, the Screwed Up Click, DJ Screw just coming from Texas.
Im just like, This is insane.
I have some big ole shoes to fill, but Ima do it.
And then Beyonce came out of Texas.
So just being the next girl coming out, Im like, Okay, I got this Bey.
Ima hold it down.
And youre a Rihanna fan, and Rihanna follows you on Instagram.She does, girl.
I was like, Look, yall gonna give me a heart attack.
Yall gotta stop.
Where do you think your sex appeal comes from?Im just in love with myself.
Its really, a lot of times, nothing that Im doing on purpose.
Its just how I am.
Im not a character; everything I do is very natural.
That doesnt need to be the case.
So I definitely just want other girls to feel like how I feel.
We working on that though, day by day.
Five years from now, where do you want to be?
What do you want to be doing?I just want to be an icon.
I want to be a household name.
When you bring up the best, you gonna bring up Megan.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Styling by Indya Brown.
Styling Assistant Devine Blacksher.
She is the first woman rapper.
