Megan Thee Stallion is performing at Wireless Festival tonight (July 8). The American rapper is set to take to the Finsbury Park stage alongside other performers including Cardi B and Roddy Rich.
In 2017 Megan made her professional solo debut with the EP Make It Hot.
Now, she’s won three Grammy Awards, a Billboard Women in Music Award, two MTV Video Music Awards and four American Music Awards.
Her journey to success has been incredible, but it’s not been an easy one and along the way, the Houston rapper has experienced unfathomable loss.
As she prepares for another huge performance tonight, here’s how her path to success was established and the loss's she suffered along the way.
How Megan Thee Stallion’s mum inspired her career
Megan Thee Stallion’s rapping ambitions started from a young age and she was already writing by the age of seven.
The reason behind her early interest in rapping can be credited to her mum. Megan’s mother Holly Thomas was a bill collector, but she was a rapper too.
She rapped under the name of Holly-Wood and released her own mixtapes.
Speaking to Tyler Banks for Sports Illustrated, Megan recalled how she idolised her mum after watching her recording in the studio.
She said: "My mom was a rapper. She didn't know I wanted to be a rapper, but I would literally watch her in the studio all day. I'm like, 'This lady is everything,'"
But it wasn’t until she turned 18 that Megan would reveal to her mum that she aspired to follow in her footsteps.
Revealing why she didn’t tell her mum at first, she said: "I wanted to be perfect to her. Finally, I went to college. I was like, 'OK, I've probably held this secret in long enough. I started going to the studio by myself . . . didn't want her to shut me down. I didn't want her to say, 'You're not serious about this. You don't know.'"
But Megan’s mum was supportive and she even acted as her manager while her career kicked off.
What happened to Megan Thee Stallion’s mum?
In March 2019, as Megan’s career was on the rise, her mother tragically passed away from a brain tumour.
Despite the heartbreaking loss, Megan continued to work.
In May 2019 she told The FADER: "No matter what I'm going through, I still want to keep going,
"Just to show people you can still be strong and you can still face your everyday life. Even when everything coming down on you.
“I didn't cancel none of my shows 'cause I just knew — I know — how my momma is, and I know she wouldn't want me to stop."
What happened to Megan Thee Stallion’s dad?
Megan Thee Stallion’s dad spent the first eight years of her life in prison.
Despite this, they had a close relationship. She told Marie Claire in 2020: “My dad was definitely my best friend, but for the first eight years of my life, he was in jail,
“When he got out, we were together every day.”
But when she was just 15, her father passed away. Megan has said that one thing she’s learnt from her dad is not to settle in a relationship.
She said: “I saw how he treated my mom, and I saw how my dad treated me,
“I have so many strong positive influences. I’m not going to lower my standards.”
What happened to Megan Thee Stallion’s grandma?
Just two weeks after the death of her mother, Megan suffered more heartbreak when her grandmother also passed away.
After the passing of her father, Megan’s mother and grandmother became powerful female role models to the rapper as they raised her together.
Last year, Megan received the 18th Congressional District Humanitarian Award in Houston for her contributions to the community, she dedicated the award to her grandmother.
During her acceptance speech, she said: "My grandma always taught me to be kind and giving,"
"I learned that from her. I was raised by very giving women. So I want to dedicate this award to my grandma because she taught me to be the woman I am today."
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