A lot of rappers believe they were born to freestyle, but Megan Thee Stallion is truly genetically gifted. Her late mother was recognized for lyrical skills in Houston’s ’90s hip-hop scene, and, by high school, the future star born Megan Jovon Ruth Pete was exhibiting preternatural skills at improvisation, onomatopoeia and fast flow. At 29, she dominates the rap game, standing taller than any of her peers—literally and figuratively.

Megan Thee Stallion has also taken the baton from Taylor Swift for hottest concert ticket and runs with it throughout the summer, bringing the Hot Girl Summer Tour to San Francisco, Glasgow, Manchester and Paris after Las Vegas. Pretty impressive for a first headliner tour, but Megan Thee Stallion has taken her success in stride with every skyrocketing step of the way. There’s never been a fake-it-until-you-make-it phase of her career.

She probably heard her mother rapping before she was born, as Holly “Holly-Wood” Thomas drove from Houston to San Antonio to give birth under her own mother’s care. Little Megan came into being under the influence of both of their strong personalities. She grew up tall and proudly voluptuous, taking on the sobriquet “Stallion”—Texas slang for women with lower limbs shaped similarly to her own.

Sharpening her skills battling other rappers in a cappella cyphering square-offs set the stage for her to post freestyling videos beginning in 2013 while attending Prairie View A&M University. Megan Thee Stallion tapped into the social media zeitgeist while studying for her bachelor of science in health administration and became a viral sensation. By 2016 she released her first single, “Like a Stallion,” and began posting to SoundCloud. Two years later she signed with an independent label.

Her relationship with 1501 Certified Entertainment is now part of hip-hop lore, with the rapper’s early inexperience in business causing her to not fully comprehend what she signed up for. Megan Thee Stallion prevailed in the subsequent lawsuit that won her independence, but maintained her relationship with producer LilJuMadeDaBeat.

It’s been a fruitful collaboration, resulting in hits such as “Body,” concert highlights “Megan’s Piano” and “Captain Hook,” and her latest No. 1 single, “Hiss.” It’s the leadoff track from her new album set to be released while she’s on tour, and she’s been opening shows with it.

Her current concerts cover some 30 songs in her catalog including “Hot Girl,” “Girls in the Hood” and “Southside Forever Freestyle.” She includes her collaborations with Dua Lipa (“BOA”), Beyonce (“Savage”) and, of course, Cardi B (“WAP”). Megan Thee Stallion’s capacity for lyrical memory storage seems endless, and the precision with which she delivers torrents of taunts, titillation and talking points is next-level.

It seems like she’s drawing from an endless well while cultivating her production skills as well as her status as a style icon. Her win as Best New Artist at the 2021 Grammys was just the beginning of her reign as rap’s most mischievous monarch who could wind up ruling for a long time.