Megan Thee Stallion has an important message for Black women: be "sassier" and "demand more."
In a candid interview with GQ Magazine, the Houstonian reflected on her journey in the rap game, her wish for Black women and her resilience after she said she was shot by fellow rapper Tory Lanez this past summer.
“I want Black women to be louder. I want us to be sassier. I want us to demand more, be more outspoken, keep speaking and just keep demanding what you deserve. Don’t change — just get better,” the magazine's rapper of the year said.
The “Savage” rapper also discussed listening to her intuition regarding the shooting incident with Lanez in July.
The 25-year-old was shot in the foot after leaving a pool party hosted by Kylie Jenner, as Blavity previously reported. In the interview, the entertainer recalled not listening to her inner voice after catching a ride with the Canadian rapper. She detailed how she was clad in only a bikini and that her cellphone battery had died.
When Megan tried to exit the vehicle, Lanez allegedly began firing a gun at her feet, wounding her.
In the emotionally-charged interview, she conveyed her disbelief of the shooting.
“Like, I never put my hands on nobody,” she told GQ. “I barely even said anything to the man who shot me when I was walking away. We were literally like five minutes away from the house.”
Megan ruminated on how often Black women are left to fend for themselves, including her own mother.
“When I was growing up, my mom didn’t have any help with me,” she said. “Everybody was doing everything that they could do to help. But it was only so much that my grandmother could do. And it was like; there’ll be times that I’m in an apartment with my mama, and I know something’s wrong, but I don’t know what it is.”
The “WAP” rapper’s mother, Holly Thomas, succumbed to a brain tumor in 2019. In the interview, she recognized her mom’s strength and pliability. As if she finally understood her mom’s struggles, the artist appeared to have a moment of clarity.
“Like, now, I’m understanding you got a lot on you; it’s a lot of pressure, but you’re not saying it to nobody. I know it’s probably just hard to be a single mama trying to take care of yourself and your daughter. And you’re putting on a face,” Megan acknowledged.
“You are acting like everything was okay, so I feel comfortable,” she paused and revealed that she had relived the pattern. “I feel like a lot of Black girls learn that early. I did. I do that a lot.”
The Texas native has been persistent in her demands for Black women and the need to protect them. During her October performance on Saturday Night Live, the rapper performed her song "Savage" in front of a large screen that quoted Malcolm X, as Blavity previously reported.
"The most disrespected, unprotected, neglected person in America is the Black women," the screen read.
Megan used the performance to call out Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and his failure to bring justice to Breonna Taylor, a Black woman shot and killed in her home by Louisiana police.
