one hot issue
Texas' hottest rapper Megan Thee Stallion makes history with new Forbes cover
Hot Girl Megan Thee Stallion is having yet another red-hot year.
Fresh off dropping her sophomore studio album Traumazine (one that she calls "vulnerable") and hosting Saturday Night Live, the Texas native — née Megan Pete — has made history as the first Black woman to grace the cover of Forbes 30 Under 30 Magazine.
In the new issue, Megan (27) discusses the pressure of releasing a highly anticipated follow-up album, her work ethic (“I’ll take a break when I’m dead,” she tells Forbes), and being authentic as a brand: “I cannot fake it,” she says. “If I’m not naturally into it, I don’t want to sell it.”
The Texas native makes quite the cover model.Image via Megan Thee Stallion/Instagram
In a revealing article, Forbes writer Jabari Young crafts a timeline that succinctly captures Megan's astonishing rocket to the top:
Before she was Megan Thee Stallion, she was Megan Pete. Her mother, Holly Thomas, a bill collector and aspiring rapper, raised her in South Park, a Black neighborhood in Houston. By 2016, Megan was studying nursing at Prairie View A&M, one of the largest historically Black colleges in America, while creating hip-hop videos on YouTube. In 2018, she caught the ear of hip-hop manager Travis Farris, who first heard about Megan from Houston strippers who vouched for her sound.
Fast forward to 2022, where Megan has earned a legion of fans (Hotties) worldwide, been featured in Forbes twice now, landed lucrative deals with Nike, Revlon, Cash App, Popeyes, and Frito-Lay, and magazine covers such as Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. She's now worth some $13 million per Forbes and has also netted a deal with Netflix to produce content. (Oh, and she finally got that diploma, too.)
Despite intense personal losses and slights from other superstars, Megan has risen to the point where she'll soon be as synonymous as her idol, fellow Houston native Beyoncé.
“She’s so empowering and so sexy,” rapper Cardi B tells Forbes. “She’s mega-million Megan.”
Sounds like Texas' Hot Girl may have a new moniker.