At only 27, Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, has broken records and made history with her hit songs, after first garnering attention through videos she’d post of her freestyling on social media. Despite her long repertoire of hit songs, Megan also uses her fame and money to help people who are less fortunate, and has also used her voice to uplift different communities.
Here are 7 impactful things that Megan Thee Stallion has said or done that changed the industry.
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1. She uses her music to make women feel confident and powerful.
Many of Megan Thee Stallion’s lyrics in her songs are all about being confident in your own skin and can speak directly to her mostly woman-based fandom. From her hit songs like ‘Savage,’ and even ‘WAP,’ which created a conversation around representation for female sexuality, Megan aims to empower women from all different walks of life. By rapping about her own self-confidence, she has also managed to boost her fans’ confidence as well. Her music video for her 2021 single ‘Thot Sh*t,’ also garnered a lot of praise with the inclusion of all body types prompting people to say that she’s changing the world with the power of her music. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Megan opened up about her journey with self-confidence, saying, “I’m realizing that I don’t have to be in full glam every time you see me because I’m just getting more comfortable with myself and more comfortable with my skin. I know that I’m a person that everybody looks to, and they’re like, ‘Oh, Megan, she’s a confident woman. She’s so strong.’ But you have to go through things to become that person.”
2. She helped women pursue education by creating a tuition-paid 4-year college scholarship.
Megan Thee Stallion has been vocal throughout her career on her enrollment in college at Texas Southern, where she pursued a degree in health administration. Back in June 2021, Megan announced that she’d be making one college student’s dreams come true by offering a full-tuition, four-year scholarship. According to Roc Nation, the rapper offered the scholarship to a student at the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports, and Entertainment at Long Island University, which Jay-Z’s entertainment company announced in August 2020. The school will host its inaugural semester in fall 2021, and 25% of the incoming freshmen class will receive Roc Nation Hope Scholarships. “Getting an education is incredibly important to me,” she said in a press statement. “I still have academic goals that I want to achieve, so if I can use my resources to open doors and create opportunities for at least one student, then it’s a victory. It’s important that we encourage our students to pursue their passions and put them in positions to become the next game-changer in whichever fields they choose.” This isn’t the first time Megan had offered a college scholarship, having previously launched the Don’t Stop Scholarship Fund, named after her single that featured rapper Young Thug. The scholarship, which was offered in October 2020, had been awarded to two women of color pursuing an associate, bachelor or postgraduate degree in any field with $10,000 scholarships each, according to Billboard.
3. She’s passionate about giving back to people in need and donated $15,000 to Houston Food Bank.
According to Chron, back in 2019, Megan Thee Stallion had spent Thanksgiving with her community, giving back to those in need. The rapper had donated $15,400 worth of turkeys that were distributed to 1,050 households for Thanksgiving. Five Houston neighborhoods had received the donations, including Fifth Ward, Southwest Houston, and Kashmere Gardens. “I landed right off my flight and came straight to the @houstonfoodbank and hotties we’ve already donated over 1,000 turkeys,” she shared in an Instagram post, according to ABC 13.
4. She raises awareness about global issues through her social media — once hosting a “Hottie Beach Clean Up” in California.
In June 2019, Megan announced that she would be hosting an inaugural “Hottie Beach Clean Up,” according to Complex. On her social media, Megan encouraged her fans to join her at Santa Monica Beach to help pick up litter as part of a new initiative. “Hey Hotties I’m having the first ever HOTTIE BEACH CLEAN UP in Cali June 6th at the Santa Monica pier. Be there at 3pm ! Houston we’re next!” According to The Source, the idea had come to her after a fan asked her to raise awareness about global warming on her platforms. She thought it was a good idea and posted an invitation to Instagram. “I’m about to get on my hot girl sht and start using less plastic and try to use the same water bottle — and I think I’m going to organize a beach clean up for all the hotties. Y’all gotta come in y’alls bikinis and we gonna go clean up some sht, you know what I’m saying?” Despite the short notice, hundreds of Megan’s fans, branded ‘Hotties,’ turned up at the beach to participate in the clean-up effort. Megan praised everyone who came together to help, and asked fans to give her beaches they should do for the next “Hottie Beach Clean Up.” — TINA SNOW (@theestallion) June 7, 2019 RELATED: 80 Empowering Megan Thee Stallion Quotes To Use For Your Hot Girl Summer Captions
5. She gave away $1 million dollars on International Women’s Day in collaboration with fashion brand Fashion Nova.
Back in March 2021, Megan announced that she’d be helping women with her latest $1 million campaign with Fashion Nova, which had fallen on International Women’s Day. Megan’s ‘Women on Top’ initiative works to empower women by supporting their education, businesses, charities, and organizations with donations, scholarships, and grants. Throughout the month of March, Megan had partnered with Fashion Nova Cares to highlight female recipients who were pre-selected to receive $25,000 or more, to win a total of $1 million, according to Billboard. “I’m excited to collaborate with Fashion Nova Cares on the Women on Top initiative and be part of giving $1 million to support women-led businesses and organizations,” she said in a statement. “These donations are life-changing and will help women of all ages get one step closer to making their dreams a reality.” This isn’t the first time that Megan has used her platform to give back to women. Following the release of her song ‘WAP’ with Cardi B, both rappers teamed up with Cash App and Twitter following the song’s historic No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100, in which they gave away $1 million as a way to honor women during the viral conversation about female empowerment following the song’s release.
6. She’s consistently vocal about protecting Black women.
In a 2020 New York Times op-ed titled “Why I Speak Up For Black Women,” Megan addressed the way Black women are “disrespected and disregarded” in America. In the article, Megan described Black women’s prospective role in the 2020 presidential election, her alleged shooting by Tory Lanez, her protest on Saturday Night Live against Breonna Taylor’s killing, the staggering maternal mortality rates of Black mothers, and other social factors that inform her fight to “Protect Black women.” “I was recently the victim of an act of violence by a man,” Megan wrote, omitting Tory Lanez’s name. “After a party, I was shot twice as I walked away from him. We were not in a relationship. Truthfully, I was shocked that I ended up in that place.” In the end, she writes about realizing violence against women “happens because too many men treat all women as objects, which helps them to justify inflicting abuse against us when we choose to exercise our own free will.” She also called out the hip hop industry for its misogynistic behavior, adding, “it seems as if the male-dominated ecosystem can handle only one female rapper at a time. Countless times, people have tried to pit me against Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, two incredible entertainers and strong women. I’m not ‘the new’ anyone; we are all unique in our own ways.”
7. In another effort to give back to her hometown, she plans on opening assisted living facilities in Houston.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Megan revealed that she has plans to open up an assisted living facility in her hometown of Houston, an initiative she wanted to enact after graduating from college. Megan expressed her excitement after graduating from Texas Southern University and shared that she plans to make a difference in the health community with her new degree. “I’m still going to open up these assisted living facilities and I definitely want to hire new college graduates,” she said. “Nobody ever wants to hire you fresh out of college. They feel like you have no experience, so I want to create a place where you can get experience.” Not only will Megan ensure that the elderly will have a safe place to call home, but she will also be creating jobs for her fellow nurses and health administrators too! RELATED: How Megan Thee Stallion’s Collab With BTS Might Empower K-Pop Fans To Challenge Beauty Standards Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.
