“I Wanted To Be Perfect”

When she was a teen, Megan Thee Stallion admitted that she would head down to the beach and have her friends take photos of her as if she was a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. Now that she’s an award-winning, chart-topping, international superstar, those dreams have become a reality. The Houston rapper is one of several ladies gracing the cover of the latest Swimsuit Issue, and for her feature, Megan kicked back with supermodel mogul Tyra Banks to talk about the development of her Rap career.

It was back in March 2019 when Megan’s mother, Holly Thomas, reportedly passed away after battling cancer. The budding artist has previously stated that she was inspired to pursue a Rap career because of her mother who was also a rapper.

“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,” Megan told Tyra. “I’m like, ‘This lady is everything.’ I didn’t want to tell her that I could rap until I was eighteen. I wanted to be perfect to her.” As Megan continued to hone her Rap skills, the teen enrolled in college because her grandmother, who was a teacher, wanted to make sure she continued her education.

“I was like, ‘Okay, I’ve probably held this secret in long enough,'” she added. “I started going to the studio by myself…I didn’t want [my mom] to shut me down. I didn’t want her to say, ‘You’re not serious about this.” 

When she was about 20-years-old, Megan said she finally approached her mom to tell her that she wanted to be a rapper. “I was like, ‘Okay, Mama. Don’t whoop me, but I’m about to curse, okay?’ So, I started going off and I’m cursing.” She joked that her mother immediately wanted to know where she learned all of those curse words.

Aside from those fond memories of her late mother, Megan also spoke with Tyra about her dream of owning and operating an assisted living facility. Watch the two stars chat about Megan Thee Stallion‘s rise below.