Megan Thee Stallion’s Parents Influenced Her Career before & after Their Death

Rap superstar Megan Thee Stallion became a household name for her catchy songs and collaborations with other prominent artists. And the drive behind her success was Megan Thee Stallion's parents.

Megan Thee Stallion's songs "WAP" with Cardi B and "Savage" with Beyonce became instant internet sensations with thousand of fans hoping on trends and creating fun choreography for each anthem.

Born Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, the creator of the "Hot Girl Summer" phenomenon, has cemented her name in the music industry for her bold nature and vibrant lyrics. However, not many people know that her late patents fueled her determination for success. In a rare image, a young Megan Thee Stallion and her mother were pictured together.

Megan Thee Stallion's Parents Were Her Support

Pete's father passed away before witnessing his daughter's rise to fame, and her mother later on. However, Pete's parents heavily impacted her career as a musician; her father was what she called "a full-time hustler" and instilled confidence in her and a strong understanding of what to accept from people.

Pete started writing her lyrics and performing her raps at sixteen; various videos of her freestyling and partaking in rap battles went viral on the internet. After she graduated from Pearland High School in 2013, she began performing under her childhood nickname, The Stallion.

Over the years, Pete climbed the charts and worked with artists from Dua Lipa to Doja Cat. After spending years climbing the charts, she worked on her latest highly anticipated album, "Traumazine," and managed to graduate from Texas Southern University with a bachelor's degree in health administration.

She said she had the "coolest parents in the world" growing up and tried to strike a balance in being a mix of them both - and she was getting the hang of it. She and her mother had a good cop/ bad cop relationship, but after her mother's passing, Pete said:

"But now I don't have the luxury of having somebody who could be my bad cop. Now I have to be both."

Her father had high hopes that she would be somebody someday, under the impression that she would pursue a career as a model; she initially hid her dreams of becoming a rapper from her parents, afraid they might disapprove.

After the loss of her parents, all she wanted to do was make them proud. It kept her inspired, always finding ways to impress her parents, even in their absence.

Megan's Mom Was Also a Rapper

Pete's musical gift seemingly ran in the family; her mother, Holly Thomas, was also a rapper and went by the stage name Holly-Wood. She was the first female rapper Pete knew.

Pete spent her time studying her mother and going on trips with her to recording studios; Thomas's musical career lasted from 2001 to 2007; she released music and even tried to start a record label.

She described her mother's music as "rougher" and "more gangster" than her own; when her mother heard her daughter's music for the first time, she was taken aback by Pete's explicit lyrics.

When Thomas noticed Pete was serious about pursuing a career as a rapper, she began managing her daughter while she was in college.

Thomas passed away in March 2019 after a battle with brain cancer; her mother's passing left Pete devastated; she found herself in a position where she felt like she couldn't trust anybody.

She said her mother was "driving the car" during the early stages of her career, and she didn't have to think about much - her mother handled everything and supported her.

Without her mother telling her she did a good job or offering Pete her opinion – which she trusted, Pete felt she had nobody to turn to and whom she could confide.

Pete revealed that her mother told her not to stop chasing her dreams, even after her health worsened. "I took that literally," Pete said. Shortly after her mother's passing, her grandmother passed away as well.

She announced the news of her mother's passing on her Instagram; she also shared the cause and that her mother had been sick for some time.

During her Apple Music interview, Pete shared that she had dedicated her single "Anxiety" to her mother. She wrote the song as a diary entry dedicated to herself and her late mother; she chose to try something new and turned it into a song.

Her mother was not only the inspiration behind her music but also her motivation to finish her degree. Pete made her mother proud when she walked across the stage to fetch her degree but admitted it was not just for her but all the women in her life that made her who she was.

On days when her grief was a little more difficult, Pete would share how much she missed her mother on her social media. In a tweet, she also defended the hard work that went into her career and expressed her frustrations with people who tried to devalue her and her mother's efforts.

Megan Thee Stallion's Father Died When She Was 15

Pete's father spent the first eight years of his daughter's life behind bars before he died while she was in her freshman year in high school.

Upon his release, it was like no time had passed, and they spent all their time together. He was Pete's best friend and one of her life's most impactful positive influences. She witnessed the love in which he treated her mother and her and learned early on never to settle her standards for anything less than what she saw growing up.

Megan Thee Stallion's Reaction to Negative Tweets about Her Parents

After her mother's death, social media users began to bully Pete and joke about the loss of her parents. Her fans were quick to defend her, with the rapper calling the jokes "so tired." Nicki Minaj's fan accounts joined in on the mocking and posted comments about Pete's late parents. Pete replied with a simple "Okay?"

Despite the death of Megan Thee Stallion's parents, she used the pain of the experience to write "Traumazine" and achieved impressive accolades over the years.