Every day, I wake up and I just think: what did Megan Thee Stallion do to make people this mad?
Now I’m sure many people think of Megan as that one rapper that talks about nothing but lust and money, but have you ever truly listened to what she’s saying before taking offense? Megan is an artist I listen to quite often because I like to wake up with confidence. It only made sense I’d talk about an empowering, Black woman for my birthday month. As I grow, so do the women that raise me.
Now I’m sure many people think of Megan as that one rapper that talks about nothing but lust and money, but have you ever truly listened to what she’s saying before taking offense? Megan is an artist I listen to quite often because I like to wake up with confidence. It only made sense I’d talk about an empowering, Black woman for my birthday month. As I grow, so do the women that raise me.
Megan came into the game swinging. She gave R&B vibes, aggressive bars, and mantras that instilled belief in oneself. She was suffering internally and she didn't stop working not once. She made it her job to be in your face, whether you loved or hated her. And then she was shot by an egotistical boy with a lack of self control. All of the sudden everyone was so concerned with how truthful she could be in an interview, her credentials, her “repetitive” discography, or how she approached the relationships in her life. I’ve seen more people argue about her being attacked than people that can tell the difference between ‘there’, ‘they’re’, and ‘their’. And that’s a serious reflection of society in my eyes.
One situation, that she didn’t even want to originally talk about, led to her being picked apart for entertainment. And yet no one could tell how bad things got until she completely came back after a year long disappearance. I think this is a prime example of the “strong, Black woman” complex that my community can’t seem to let go of. Black women, especially powerful ones, are told off and often discredited through situations that often have nothing to do with their abilities. Yet, they will be the first demographic that are called dramatic and all kinds of bitches if they aren’t able to take it. Throughout all this criticism I watched, I never saw a celebrity say that they wished Megan was okay unless it was someone also hated by the public using the same criteria.
One situation, that she didn’t even want to originally talk about, led to her being picked apart for entertainment. And yet no one could tell how bad things got until she completely came back after a year long disappearance. I think this is a prime example of the “strong, Black woman” complex that my community can’t seem to let go of. Black women, especially powerful ones, are told off and often discredited through situations that often have nothing to do with their abilities. Yet, they will be the first demographic that are called dramatic and all kinds of bitches if they aren’t able to take it. Throughout all this criticism I watched, I never saw a celebrity say that they wished Megan was okay unless it was someone also hated by the public using the same criteria.
Megan is one of the most vocal artists I know when it comes to mental health, community building, and knowing your worth in general. Sadly, people fail to see a philanthropist in this woman as opposed to someone that “hates Black men”. They beg for the truth and then when they see vulnerability, you claim it’s falsified and laugh until it seems as if she could never pick herself back up. A real artist sends a message even if they can’t entirely apply it to themselves. I’m sure there are many nights where Megan struggled to get out of bed, and yet she continued creating songs to empower women that look like her. Women that have been treated like her. She took the negative aspects of her mental state and used that as an opportunity to provide resources to those in similar positions before helping herself. And to me, that’s very telling.
I’ve recently watched Megan’s documentary, In Her Words, and it’s safe to say that many viewers missed the point. Before I could watch it myself, the only headline I saw was revolving around her past relationship with an abusive man. People took her truth of intimacy as a way to dishonor claims of being attacked. Almost as if they never cared about her truth to begin with; just another way to say “she's a liar”. If you'd only followed articles, you would’ve assumed that’s all she spoke on in her film. But in reality, she was able to dive into her loss of family, friends, and her struggles with PTSD and depression. She gave us exactly what people pleaded for: Megan Pete, not Megan Thee Stallion. Somehow, watchers still managed to see her frustration due to social ignorance and make that the focus. She showed us how hard life can get no matter how rich, well known, or confident you try to be. The struggles of being the only one to support yourself and rolling with the punches. She gave us an inside view on her pain and how she pulled herself out of the mud, and still…there was always a man ready to make her career about another man. I've seen Megan be referred to as a clout chaser many times, but the irony has started to set in quite quickly.
I’ve recently watched Megan’s documentary, In Her Words, and it’s safe to say that many viewers missed the point. Before I could watch it myself, the only headline I saw was revolving around her past relationship with an abusive man. People took her truth of intimacy as a way to dishonor claims of being attacked. Almost as if they never cared about her truth to begin with; just another way to say “she's a liar”. If you'd only followed articles, you would’ve assumed that’s all she spoke on in her film. But in reality, she was able to dive into her loss of family, friends, and her struggles with PTSD and depression. She gave us exactly what people pleaded for: Megan Pete, not Megan Thee Stallion. Somehow, watchers still managed to see her frustration due to social ignorance and make that the focus. She showed us how hard life can get no matter how rich, well known, or confident you try to be. The struggles of being the only one to support yourself and rolling with the punches. She gave us an inside view on her pain and how she pulled herself out of the mud, and still…there was always a man ready to make her career about another man. I've seen Megan be referred to as a clout chaser many times, but the irony has started to set in quite quickly.
I admire how she was able to realize her problem to become her better self. She’s aware that there will be another woman at the edge of her string that’s in need of motivation. And she is there for them whilst being her authentic self. Since she’s come back from the dead, she hasn't stopped winning. No longer doing things for the public, but for herself. And to me, that was the theme of her documentary. It might even be the motivation for all of her future projects now. Imagine how much more amazing women can be if they are given the opportunity to look at themselves. To take care of themselves. Megan Thee Stallion has begun putting Megan Pete first, and I think that’s the biggest takeaway from her career right now. You can’t make it off the porch without tied shoes.
