Megan Thee Stallion, born Megan Pete, is an up and coming rapper out of the Houston scene. Inspired by her late mother Holly who was also a Houston-based rapper, Meg first went viral after a video of her verse in a Houston cypher went viral. After Megan pioneered and brought to prominence the term “Hot Girl Summer” that, at once, took over the Twitter-sphere and became the modus vivendi for summer 2019, her rise to fame was meteoric.

Megan may be known for her beauty, height, and stature (earned her the childhood nickname Stallion), but her smarts are not to underestimated. Megan’s mother urged her to wait until age 21 to start pursuing a career in rap, so she could prioritize her educational pursuits. In addition to performing and recording music full-time, Megan is studying health administration at Texas Southern University. Who better to start off this fall’s hot girl semester (quarter, whatever) than the Hot Girl herself?

From the moment I stepped into Reynolds Club two hours early for the doors’ opening, it was evident that the energy was high. In fact, I’d never seen Reynolds Club look so good. The crowd soon grew into a massive army of the University’s most well-dressed people of color, clad in leather, heels, fringe, and their most Meg-appropriate gear and ready to storm Mandel Hall. And storm, they did.

DJ Laila gave an excellent set that had the crowd rapping to Rihanna and Nicki and practicing their moves in anticipation of the main act. After much sweating and negotiating to get a better spot in the pit, at long last, it was time for the Hottie.

Known for being fashionably late and sometimes, even, a no-show (as she was at the XXL Freshman Class show I attended in NYC this summer), Meg finally stepped onto stage half an hour after her call time. However, all was forgiven the moment I caught sight of her high-heeled patent boots: Thee Stallion is a sight to see.

With only an EP and a freshly released mixtape out, the crowd was familiar with many of her songs, as she stuck to her usual repertoire. Starting with Realer, before calling us “a smart crowd,” and transitioning into Cocky AF, Meg soon realized that we could, indeed, hang like the rest of the ‘em, and challenged members of the crowd to test their knee strength and keep up with her infamous dance routine. To the tune of “Simon Says”, UChicago’s finest put their skills to the test as Meg inspected technique and the crowd spurred them on.

“You better hold your tongue, ‘less you gon’ lick on my clit.”

Meg’s lyrics, while they may be repetitive or raunchy, are purposefully so and catchy: following in the thematic steps of Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj, Meg does what she does and does it well. As she performed her platinum hit and most popular song to date “Big Ole’ Freak”, the songs began to blend into each other in a sea of melodious flow, bombastic stage antics, and much sing-along from the crowd.

It’s hard to pin down what exactly makes Meg such a powerhouse, but as the show wound down and lucky barricaders tried to get a coveted personal video from Meg on their phone (I was one of the successful), it was evident that her power as an artist was not only mesmerizing, but far-reaching. She brought together non-fans and fans alike, faculty and students of all backgrounds, newly recruited hotties and veterans of the Hot Girl regime and undoubtedly gave them a show to remember.

Recently named in Time’s 100 Next list of influential new artists, advocates, leaders, phenoms, and innovators, it is clear that Meg Thee Stallion is carrying on the legacy of the many female rappers that came before her, while blazing a path of her own.

Check out more footage from the concert on Meg’s Instagram.