Megan Thee Stallion creates history by becoming the first female rapper to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Megan Thee Stallion continues to make waves as she racks up her achievements from being recognized by politicians, making hits, and winning awards to now being the face of Hot Girl Summer!
The Houston rapper is known for the slang, which is coincidentally the name of her song – “Hot Girl Summer,” and is the poster girl for being sexy and body positive. It’s no surprise that the celebration of her voluptuous body has landed her on one of the most prestigious magazine covers- Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.
This means that she is now the first rapper ever to grace the front of the iconic publication.
Baring her curves and skin for the magazine, however, is somewhat of a change for SI, which previously only featured lean or skinny bodies, which were mostly white with Black women few and in between.
However, it seems that the magazine has caught wind of the change and is on board, and Megan has given her approval.
“I think they are on the forefront when it comes to diversity and inclusion because they do not fear change, they lean into it,” she said. “They see the world and have it reflect on the cover and pages inside. That is why they have been so successful.”
According to Megan Thee Stallion, she has always been a fan of SI, and there have been a few models who left a lasting impression on her.
“My earliest memory of a SI Swimsuit cover was Tyra,” she said of the Legendary model who first appeared on the cover of SI in 1997 (which she later recreated in 2019 and still slayed).
“I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this girl looks like me!’ Here is this stunning Black woman owning her curves and it made a big impact. It made me think, maybe I can be on the cover of SI Swim one day. And guess what — I am!”
She added that her other role model was Beyoncé, who featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2007.
“I was so surprised when she did the cover, because I had only ever seen models before,” she said. “I think she was the first musician to ever be on the cover.”
Meanwhile, the rapper also modeled some of her pieces from her birthday collaboration for summer with Fashion Nova.
The “Thot Sh*t” rapper continues to make a name for herself after getting her big break with “Wap” with Cardi B not only in the music world but also in the fashion industry as she defies unrealistic stereotypes requiring body types being petite rather than curvy and voluptuous.
