If you pay attention to music at all, chances are you’ve been hearing a lot about Megan Thee Stallion lately. And if you haven’t, well, you’re welcome, because I’m about to change your life for the better. It’s tough to keep up with all of the up-and-coming artists in the music industry, but Megan Thee Stallion is definitely one who needs to be on your radar. “Who is Megan Thee Stallion?,” you ask. Well, to start, she’s a 24-year-old rapper from Houston, TX, and she’s on a mission to take over the world. She’s been steadily grinding since 2016, and this year, her career has really blown up with her first major project being released. Now, Megan has gone especially viral with the spread of the Hot Girl Summer meme, and it’s time that the whole world knows exactly who she is. Here are five things you need to know about Megan Thee Stallion.
Her Mixtape Needs To Be On Your Pregame Playlist
Megan has been making music for a few years, but she really arrived this year, with her first full-length mixtape, Fever, dropping in May. It debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard charts, and has gotten rave reviews from basically every publication, including as a New York Times critics’ pick. The mixtape is the perfect combination of intricate lyrics and amazing beats, and it’s clear from the jump that Megan didn’t come to play around.
She’s The OG Hot Girl
If you’ve been unleashing your inner Hot Girl Summer lately, you have Megan Thee Stallion to thank. Her nickname has been Hot Girl Meg for a while, and her recent song “Cash Sh*t” helped to kick off the biggest trend of the summer. I wrote a more detailed explanation of the Hot Girl Summer here, but it’s basically all about living your best life and being a bad bitch.
Megan’s attitude in her music and on social media is all about feeling yourself, whether it comes to how you look, your professional successes, or whatever is happening in your personal life. Life is too short not to be a Hot Girl, and Megan knows it.
Her Talent Is No Joke
As fun as Megan’s Hot Girl schtick is, don’t let it overshadow the fact that she’s an incredibly talented rapper. Her new mixtape Fever shouldn’t leave any doubts, but this freestyle that she posted on her Instagram yesterday is fierce as f*ck. Megan doesn’t hold back with her raps, and her flow is mesmerizing to keep up with. With freestyles like that, people won’t be asking “Who is Megan Thee Stallion?” for long.
I’ll be excited to see what she does next, now that her resources and connections in the industry are rapidly expanding. I could easily see her having Cardi B and Nicki Minaj levels of success, because she has the talent to back up her amazing attitude.
She’s Still In School
Megan is booked and busy lately, but she’s still focused on finishing her education. After taking some time off from school, she returned to online classes at Texas Southern University earlier this year. She’s acknowledged to Atlanta Black Star that it’s gotten harder to keep up with her coursework since getting big last year: “Now that I have something to do almost every day, it is pretty difficult. So I’m just doing my best. I’m trying to tell my classmates, ‘Look, y’all, send me my homework.'”
Despite the challenges that come along with juggling fame and college, her recent Instagram above shows that she’s dedicated to getting her degree. I’m impressed with the dedication, considering that I wasn’t famous in college and could still barely drag myself to class.
She’s A Trailblazer
Despite the legacy of successful female rappers going back decades with people like Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah, it’s still a completely different game for men and women in rap. When Megan was signed to 300 Entertainment last November, she was the first female rapper ever signed to the label. She was recently announced as a member of this year’s XXL Freshman Class, an annual list of the biggest up-and-coming rappers. She’s one of three women on this year’s list, which, sadly, is way more than usual.
Who is Megan Thee Stallion? Now you know she’s 100% that bitch. Keep an eye on Megan, because she’s not going anywhere. In the mean time, have the best, hottest summer ever, and don’t forget to give Fever a listen. Hot Girl Meg demands it.
Images: Getty Images; theestallion (6) / Instagram
If you pay any attention to hip-hop music, you’ll know that 21 Savage has become one of the biggest names in the rap game over the past couple years. His last album spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard charts, and he’s had massive collaborations with artists like Offset, Post Malone, Cardi B, Future, I could go on. Basically he’s been unstoppable, and has risen up as the latest huge rap star from the Atlanta scene, but now he’s facing a major problem: he’s been arrested by ICE, and they’re alleging that the Atlanta native we know him as is actually a British national who has overstayed his visa to be in the US.
Black Mirror is so sick this season!
I’m sorry…what? 21 Savage is British? Pardon me while everything I know about the world comes crashing down around me. We’ve never had a ton of details about Savage’s childhood, but he’s always strongly implied that he grew up in Atlanta. For instance, when he was in seventh grade, he was banned from the DeKalb County School District for gun possession. Since becoming famous, Savage has undertaken philanthropic efforts to help out kids in Atlanta, and his hometown has been a major part of his identity. And if you need any further evidence, just listen to a single interview or song of his. 21 Savage’s commitment to his Atlanta accent is stronger than most marriages. I took 21 Savage being from Atlanta for granted like I took the sky being blue. But this is 2019, and nothing is what it seems.
On Sunday, Savage was taken into custody Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE just keeps f*cking up), and they dropped some info that is truly mind-blowing. According to the feds, 21 Savage, aka Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was born in the UK, and moved to the US in 2005, when he was 14 years old. He originally came legally, but his visa expired after a year. He might have been fine, except that he was convicted in 2014 on felony drug charges. Now, ICE is targeting Savage, and beginning “removal proceedings before the federal immigration courts.”
So what does this mean? First of all, it tells us that 21 Savage is a master of accents, because seriously, I never would have called this. I really think he needs to get his own adaptation of The Parent Trap ASAP, because Lindsay Lohan’s got nothing on him. But seriously, I can’t wait for the documentary about 21 Savage’s life to come out in 5 or so years.
21 Savage played multiple shows in Canada last year while on tour with Post Malone. When you leave and re-enter the United States, you must have a passport — which ICE is saying wouldn’t be possible since he was on a visa that expired 13 years ago. WHAT?
— DJBooth (@DJBooth) February 3, 2019
More importantly, it means that Savage could be deported back to the UK if ICE gets their way. But I’m still trying to process 21 Savage not being American?? If he is in fact British and wants to come back to the US, his best option would be to apply for an EB-1 visa, also known as an “Extraordinary Ability” visa. For most major artists and public figures not from the US, this is the way that they can seemingly stay in the country for however long they want. What’s unclear is the likeliness of 21 Savage getting approved for an EB-1 with his criminal record. @ President Trump, this is one thing that I really need you not to ruin. We need 21 Savage to stay here in the US so he can continue to make more bops… at least until Bobby Shmurda gets out of prison in 2020.
Images: Shutterstock; XXL/ Youtube
Nicki Minaj has been the queen of rap for nearly a decade (don’t @ me), and in that time, she’s rarely let us down. Thus, when the news broke about Nicki and Cardi B’s altercation at the Harper’s Bazaar fashion week party, I knew Nicki wouldn’t stay silent for long. (Side note: I still can’t believe any of this actually happened. We are truly blessed, what can I say?) Well, the Queen has spoken, and it was worth the wait.
On Monday, she was hosting her radio show on Beats 1 (who knew Nicki Minaj had a radio show?), and she had some things to say about her issues with Cardi. Grab the popcorn, because this sh*t is more entertaining than Avatar.
“You’re angry and you’re sad. This is not funny. Get this woman some f*cking help. This woman’s at the highest point in her career and she’s throwing shoes?”
I’m a big fan of the use of “this woman.” Nicki doesn’t have the time of day to even utter Cardi’s name, and I’m totally here for the cattiness. Nicki obviously doesn’t love getting shoes thrown at her, but she also claims that all of Cardi B’s accusations are lies:
“I would never ridicule anyone’s child. so sad for someone to pin that on somebody. I would never talk about anyone’s child or parenting. These lies are ridiculous.”
I love Nicki Minaj, but I have a feeling she’s glossing over some things here. We don’t know the whole backstory of what’s gone down with Cardi and Nicki, but I doubt Cardi just made these things up out of thin air. There are three sides to every story, and baby Kulture is still a little young to tell hers.
Now, let’s get to the best part of this entire thing. After talking about how she would neeeeever speak ill of an innocent child, Nicki had some cute last words for Cardi:
“You put your hands on certain people, you gonna die. Period.”
AHHHHHHH. What does it mean? Are you scared? I’m scared!!! We already know Nicki is out to get Kylie and Stormi after they rudely stopped her from having a number one album (my favorite conspiracy theory of the year), and now Cardi and her daughter might just be next on the hit list. Watch your backs, ladies! Is this the beginning of World War 3? Will there be diss tracks? Stay tuned, because I have a feeling all of this is just getting started.
Drake, aka the nicest fanboy in rap, has taken his reputation as hip-hop’s over-eager bar mitzvah boy to the next level with his latest tattoo. I mean, it’s honestly hard to think of a member of the hip hop community who Drake is not low-key obsessed with. Nicki, Rihanna, Kanye (in a love-hate sort of way), the list goes on and on. While we have no problem with a light bromance here and there, Drake has officially taken his unholy obsession relationship with Lil Wayne to the next level. No, I don’t mean that they’re hooking up with each other (though that would be kind of fun, wouldn’t it?), I’m talking about the fact that Drake got a giant tattoo of Wayne on his arm. Which is like…more than a little strange. I mean, this is some Kylie & Tyga shit for sure. Don’t rappers usually reserve the tattoo memorials for people in their life who has died? As far as I know, Wayne, despite being a literal walking bottle of cough syrup, is still alive. I mean, I get that Wayne was a huge influence for Drake, but this seems a little extreme for friendship. Like, I love my besties, but I’m not going to get any of them tatted on my body anytime soon. Unless one of them gets married – anything can happen at a bachelorette.
Apparently, Drake got the tattoo a few months ago and immediately showed it to Wayne for approval, but he didn’t reveal it publicly until he hosted an event this weekend in a sleeveless basketball jersey, kind of like girls who wait until prom to reveal that they’re pregnant.
Drake is really great at simultaneously being the best and the worst, and this is one of his most questionable decisions. Wayne has long been a mentor to Drake, all the way back to when he signed him to his label in 2009. When Lil Wayne first saw it, he was apparently “beyond floored and honored, since loyalty’s a big deal with him.” Loyalty is great and all, but yeah, we’re still never going to get the Tito’s Vodka logo tattooed on our arm.
So yeah, we’re not sure how we feel about Drake’s latest ink, but we’re pretty sure we hate it. Nope, we’re positive we hate it. 100% positive. Sorry Drake, but you might need to wear sleeves from right now. You’ll live.
Drake was supposed to perform in Amsterdam on Monday night, and now he has fans angry because he had to cancel the show at the last minute—a power move we honestly kind of respect because it didn’t affect us personally. The official reason given was that he had “extreme food poisoning,” which is the excuse we all give when we call out sick at work with a massive hangover. Because most of us weren’t born yesterday, rumors are now swirling that Drake wasn’t sick and was he really just high. So was he? Let’s investigate. *cue Law & Order DUN DUN*
First of all, this “food poisoning”. Drake said he ate some sushi that “messed up his stomach,” and “had to get medical treatment immediately.” Then a doctor supposedly told him not to perform. Okay, so bad sushi is definitely a thing, so this would check out if this happened to you or your boss, but not one of the most popular (and rich) rappers in the world. Where the fuck was he getting this sushi, a stand on the side of the road? This is a guy who goes to Nobu with Jennifer Lawrence; the notion that Drake would even BE at a place that serves questionable sushi is highly suspect.
So the food poisoning claim is dubious at best, and let’s not forget where this concert was happening: Amsterdam, the weed capital of the world. Drake has certainly been known to enjoy a bit of la marijuana now and then, and it’s hard to believe he would go to Amsterdam and not stop at a “coffee shop” for a little pick-me-up. So what if it was bad weed and not bad sushi? Or what if Drake was just super blazed and couldn’t remember all seven words to “Hotline Bling”? We’re just saying, it happened to Dave Chappelle, it could certainly happen to Drake.
Another important thing to note is that this is the third concert Drake has postponed in Amsterdam in 2017. And it’s only been 2017 for three months. The other two were for technical reasons or some shit like that (too much codeine?), so maybe he just hates the Netherlands. Either way, his Dutch fanbase is probably getting smaller by the day because he’s hurt them so many times. Which might not be that bad, actually, because Drake of all people can surely relate to being burned by an ex one too many times.
So did Drake really eat bad sushi? We think the fuck not, but technically we’ll never quite know for sure. One thing is for sure, though: if you’re in Amsterdam and still buying tickets to see Drake, you’re just playing yourself at this point.
Between all the breakups (RIP Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom) and Oscar winners accused of sexual assault (hi, Casey Affleck), celeb gossip has been pretty fucking depressing lately. Then the beef between Nicki “Self-Proclaimed Queen of Rap” Minaj and Remy “Who TF Is That?” Ma reared its scandalous head again, and we finally have something worth talking about. Buckle up, because the Minaj-Ma feud goes back an actual, literal decade.
Let’s start with who tf Remy Ma is, because she hasn’t been relevant in mainstream culture since the days of Blackberries and worrying about Britney Spears. Reminisce Mackie, aka Remy Ma, is a rapper and member of the Bronx-based rap crew Terror Squad. I know that all is meaningless to you, so I’ll put it this way. Remember when Fat Joe came out with that song “Lean Back” and it was played at everyone’s bar mitzvah? She was the girl who did the second verse. There ya go.
Anywho, Remy and Nicki’s stars were on the rise around the same time in the early 2000s. Remy had been nominated for a Grammy and won BET’s award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist in 2005—but her career hit a roadblock when she got sent to fucking prison in 2007 for shooting some chick in the stomach. Basically, don’t piss off Remy Ma.
Nicki is either brave or kinda dumb, though, because she proceeded to do exactly that. In 2007, before Remy got shipped off, Nicki released the freestyle “Dirty Money.” She never confirmed whether or not it was a diss track directed at Remy, but it includes the line “tell that bitch with the crown to run it like Chris Brown” over a Terror Squad beat. We don’t know anything about rap, but even we can figure out who Nicki was talking about.
Remy apparently confronted Nicki at a release party, which isn’t exactly starting down a path to friendship. There were also a bunch of rumors that the two were dating, which probably made things even more awk. But before things escalated further, Remy spent the next six years living out Orange Is the New Black and watching her competition get super famous and probably carving a tally of the days until she could finally fire back into her jail cell wall.
The shade fest started soon after, with Remy Ma releasing a song with Fat Joe and my future husband, Ty Dolla $ign, called “Money Showers” in which she rapped, “Bitch claiming she the queen, what? Not hardly / Who the fuck gave you your crown, bitch? Steve Harvey?”
So here’s where shit pops off: On February 23, 2017, Nicki Minaj showed up on Gucci Mane’s latest track, “Make Love,” with a verse directed at some unnamed lady rapper who definitely, absolutely isn’t Remy Ma. JK! Nicki obviously meant Remy. Two days later, Remy Ma released “shETHER,” an entire fucking song dedicated to taking down Nicki.
“You wanna see a dead body” (little kid from BoyzNdaHood voice) @nickiminaj #Barz #AndBARZonly https://t.co/KKPFlmTERL pic.twitter.com/3tA9sukLah
— Remy Ma (@RealRemyMa) February 25, 2017
Allow me to break it down for you. Before you even listen to the song, the cover is a dismembered, bloody Barbie. A Barbie, if you’ll remember, has been Nicki’s entire persona since, like, ever. But in case that was too subtle, the track opens with an audio clip of Nicki yelling “Free Remy.” Remy then goes on to make fun of Nicki’s ridiculous fashion choices and repeat the phrase “fuck Nicki Minaj” a bunch to really drive the point home. She even goes in on Nicki’s ass, which is sacred territory for most of America. Basically, Remy is afraid of no betch.
Nicki’s response was to Instagram an article about the low sales of Remy’s last album. Clearly, she recognized this as the weak move it was, because she quickly took the post down. Nicki then Instagrammed a video of Beyoncé singing about how great of a rapper Nicki is—which like, as amazing as Beyoncé is, is still a LAME AS FUCK COMEBACK.
So far it’s been 7 full days since “shETHER” dropped, and STILL no diss track or any real acknowledgment from Nicki.
Anyone who was alive during the infamous Drake/Meek Mill beef of 2015 (so like, all of us) knows that when it comes to rap beefs, time is of the essence. The longer you wait to release your clap back, the lower your chances of winning this beef are. You would think that the person who dated Meek Mill during this very beef would know this better than anyone, so it’s not clear what exactly Nicki’s plan is. At this point it seems like she’s going to play the quiet game and just take this giant L, and honestly, we’re disappointed.
Nicki’s big comeback so far has been favoriting approximately a bajillion negative tweets about Remy from other Twitter users. Celebrities: they’re just as petty as us!
