Megan Thee Stallion Always Scratches the First Draft of a Song Because of Her Mother
Megan Thee Stallion may be topping charts worldwide as hip-hop’s favorite “It Girl,” but that doesn’t mean she’s immune to any of the same problems other singer-songwriters face when creating music. Megan recently revealed that she always scratches the first draft of a new song. And she opened up about the heartfelt connection she feels with her late mother every time she raps a new verse.
Megan Thee Stallion’s earliest inspiration was her mother
Megan was first inspired to become a musician when she was just a child. She spent hours in the studio with her mother-turned-manager, Holly Thomas.
Holly, known around the Houston hip-hop scene by the name Holly-Wood, was a bill collector who released music and attempted to start a label between 2001 and 2007. Megan looks back fondly on the late night recording sessions with her mom and credits her with sparking her passion for music.
“Holly-Wood is the first female rapper I’ve ever known, I’ve ever saw,” Megan told Vulture in 2019. “So I’m thinking like, ‘Okay, yeah, this is normal. Everybody’s doing this.’ So when she would take me to the studio with her, she would think I’m in the next room doing little kid stuff, coloring, watching TV, and I’m really like ear to the door, thinking, ‘Yeah, uh-huh I’ma do that, too.'”
After her daughter’s rap career took off, Holly soon found herself in the role of mom-manager. She stuck by Megan’s side for years, often appearing in interviews.
Sadly, Holly was diagnosed with a brain tumor soon after Megan found international success. She died of cancer in March 2019.
In one of their last conversations, Megan’s mother gave her a pep talk in a hospital room right before Megan was expected to fly to L.A. for a show.
“She was like, ‘Megan, I don’t want you to miss this opportunity just because I’m sick. I don’t want that to stop you from being Megan Thee Stallion,” she recently recalled to Rolling Stone.
After Megan left, she got a call that her mother was unresponsive. Shortly after, Holly died.
Megan continues to honor her mom
Holly’s faith in Megan has stuck with her, especially when it comes to Megan’s songwriting process.
To Megan, creating music means more than jotting down lyrics or experimenting with a beat. Rather, each one of Megan Thee Stallion’s songs is a touching tribute to her mother, whom Megan keeps close to her heart when writing a new verse.
“When I make music, I always scratch the first draft because I feel my momma would’ve scratched it for me,” she told Rolling Stone. “So I’m like, ‘OK, go harder than that.’”
Megan went on to discuss how personal tragedy has since shaped her career. She said the death of both her mom and her great-grandmother, who died just two weeks later, made her want to be a rock for her grandmother, Madlyn.
“Ever since my mom and my great-grandma passed, she’s been really depressed,” Megan said of her grandmother. “I don’t want to show her that anything is getting to me because I don’t want it to get to her.”
Despite her pain, Megan persevered. She found herself topping the Billboard Hot 100 with her “Savage” remix in July 2020 — a year after losing her mom and great-grandmother.
Since then, Megan has gone on to graduate college. She performed at this year’s Coachella. She graced the Met Gala red carpet. And she even became the first female rapper to take the stage at the 2022 Academy Awards.
The future of Megan Thee Stallion: songs, music videos, and more
Although Megan may not be the type of artist to accept a first draft, it seems she’s just as dedicated to putting out new music than ever.
Megan’s next studio album is in the works. And it has been described by the “Girls in the Hood” singer as a way for her to “reclaim her story.”
Her highly anticipated sophomore album is just one of many creative endeavors Megan has on the horizon.
In addition to a docuseries focused on her rise to fame, Netflix is currently developing a comedy series loosely based on Megan’s life, for which she plans to write. Making more cinematic music videos is also on the rapper’s to-do list after last year’s hilarious “Thot S***” clip went viral across social media.
Throughout all of her recent success, Megan allows her mother’s legacy to be the driving force behind her songwriting.
