Born Megan Pete, the Houston native was introduced to music at an early age because her mother — an underground hip-hop artist who went by the name Holly-Wood — brought her to recording sessions. Megan began regularly writing lyrics and freestyling, which led to a clip of a rap battle going viral, jump-starting her career.
By 2020, Megan earned her first two Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers, "Savage" and "WAP" featuring Cardi B. The former caught the attention of fellow Houston-bred diva Beyoncé, who later hopped on the track for a remix, and snagged Megan two GRAMMY wins in a full-circle moment — during her acceptance speech, Megan revealed her dream was to become "the rap Beyoncé."
Beyond Megan's massive musical achievements, the rap princess has also been a champion of Black women internationally.
"It's ridiculous that some people think the simple phrase 'Protect Black women' is controversial," she wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times. "We deserve to be protected as human beings. And we are entitled to our anger about a laundry list of mistreatment and neglect that we suffer."
Press play on the video above to learn more about Megan Thee Stallion's groundbreaking career, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more episodes of Black Sounds Beautiful.