Megan Thee Stallion took 2020 and made it her year

This nightmare that is 2020 is almost over, but Megan Thee Stallion has made it the year of the Stallion. The 25-year-old rapper from Houston has had an incredible year from her hit song "Savage" that caught Beyoncé's attention, her TikTok dance challenges, her collab with Cardi B on "Wap," and all of the cover shoots including Rolling Stone and being named GQ's rapper of the year.

The "Body" rapper is one of the hardest working people in the music industry this year, even after she went through a traumatic experience in July when an argument escalated into violence and resulted in Canadian singer Tory Lanez allegedly shooting her in both feet (Tory has vehemently denied shooting her and pleaded "not guilty" to charges).

Let's look at the "Hot Girl Summer" rapper's accomplishments over 2020.

She won her legal dispute against 1501 Certified Entertainment

In early March, Meg revealed that her (ex) record label 1501 Certified prevented her from releasing new music. She said that the terms of her contract were not clear to her when she signed with 1501 and when she asked to renegotiate her contract, she was barred from releasing new music. Meg went on to file a lawsuit against 1501, LLC and its CEO Carl Crawford seeking the termination of her contract, and a temporary restraining order had been granted by a district judge in Harris County, Texas, to allow her to release new music. The leading lady of "Hot Girl Summer" accused the defendants of breach of contract, common law fraud, fraudulent inducement, fraud by non-disclosure, tortious interference with prospective business relations, among other things.

The wildest part about it all was that the rapper and her lawyers shared details that her contract gave 1501 and Crawford 50 pe rcent of her published, 30 per cent of her touring income, 30 per cent of merchandising, control of all merchandising rights and a cut of her passive income, meaning any sponsorships and endorsement deals.

Meg sought to have a declaration that her contract is "unconscionable, unenforceable and/or void." The "Tina Montana" rapper sought monetary damages over $1 million and for her contract to be declared null or terminated. The defendants also controlled her live performances and touring rights, with the contract giving 1501 exclusive rights to use her name, likeness and photos. Can you believe anyone would try this type of robbery on someone? TL; DR: Meg won the legal battle, and in a now-deleted Instagram post, she declared: "I am no one's property."

Released new EP, Suga

After winning the legal dispute against her former record label and its CEO, Meg released her EP, Suga, which includes hits such as "Captain Hook," its lead single "B.I.T.C.H.," and the original version of "Savage." She released the EP on March 6 after a judge granted her a temporary restraining order from 1501, LLC and Crawford, which allowed her to release new music. 1501 and Crawford were denied the request to dissolve the order, which allowed Meg to release the EP against the label's wishes. Peace out 1501! Suga features nine songs and serves as the follow-up to Fever.  It's her third EP, and was released through her distributor, 300 Entertainment.

Released "Savage" remix with Queen Bey

Meg released the "Savage" remix with Beyoncé in April, and everyone knows that unless they've been living under a rock. After "Savage" became a TikTok challenge during the beginning of quarantine, Beyoncé came through with her bars and vocal runs to make the song that much better. The feature came after Meg signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation management in 2019. The remix came with its own animated treatment and was an ode to Houston, where both artists are from (but don't ask her ex-best friend who will let you know Meg is actually from Bexar County). The Houston hotties donated the proceeds from the single to Bread of Life, a disaster relief organization in Houston. Fans went even harder with the #SavageChallenge after Queen Bey blessed the track. Remember: if you don't jump to put jeans on, you don't feel Beyoncé's pain. This song also marked Meg's first No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

She inspired the class of 2020

Meg gifted the class of 2020 with a message and a spicy performance. The "Cash Shit" rapper performed an at-home, virtual medley of her songs for the YouTube graduation ceremony. Her 10-minute set included "Hot Girl Summer," "Big Ole Freak," "Captain Hook," "Cash Shit," and of course, "Savage." "Congratulations to the class of 2020! Have a hot girl summer!"  Meg yelled at the end of her performance. The virtual graduation also included commencement speeches from Barack and Michelle Obama, Queen Bey, BTS, Lady Gaga and more.

4oe became a big brother (twice)

One of the main things getting many people through 2020: puppy content. Meg introduced two new family members this year, Dos, in May, and X (10), in September. Her famous Frenchie, 4oe, became a big brother twice. 4oe already has an Instagram account where Meg shares the lavish lifestyle the lucky pooch gets to live. In an interview with GQ, Meg explained that 40e was a gift: "I'm just a proud mother. I literally take 4oe everywhere. There's not a place that you will see me without 4oe, and everybody knows that."

“WAP” became a catch phrase

No introduction is necessary for this accomplishment. Meg really did the damn thing with “WAP.” Cardi B and Meg’s collab set the internet on fire, from the “WAP” challenge on TikTok to Twitter being angry about Kylie Jenner’s appearance in the music video, and politicians were up in arms over the song’s lyrics. Vulture even interviewed a gynecologist about the song’s accuracy. The music video broke a record for the most views in 24 hours by an all-female collaboration on YouTube. The song went RIAA Gold in just ONE WEEK. It also became the first female rap collaboration in history to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100 Billboard chart. WAP, WAP, WAP all the way to the top.

She graced TIME’s Most Influential People cover

The “Freak Nasty” rapper graced the cover of TIME Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of 2020 in September. Actress Taraji P. Henson penned Meg’s entry and praised the rapper for her vision. “I remember hearing Megan Thee Stallion on one of those famous DJ radio shows a few years ago. She rode the beat like I’d never heard anybody ride the beat in a long time—and I’m a hip hop head,” Henson wrote. “The industry might try to pigeonhole her in this rap game, but she’s got a plan that’s much bigger. And we got her. I just want her to keep winning.”

“It’s invigorating to see her become a platinum-selling artist with the viral hit ‘Hot Girl Summer’ and multiple No. 1 songs in the past year: ‘Savage’ and ‘WAP,'” she added. “But you would be a fool to think that’s all there is to her. She’s deep.” Henson also mentioned the tragedies Meg had to overcome in the last two years, including her mother’s death and healing from the shooting. “She’s lost much of her family — her mother, her father, her grandmother — yet she is the epitome of tenacity, of pulling herself up by her bootstraps. She was shot this summer, and still people tried to tear her down,” the Empire actress wrote. “I don’t like to put the stigma of the word strong on Black women because I think it dehumanizes us,” she continued, “but she has strength — strength through vulnerability.”

She joined Chris Rock for the season premiere of Saturday Night Live

Meg took the SNL stage in October for the season premiere and used her performance to criticize Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron for failing to give the Breonna Taylor jury the option to consider murder charges. During her performance of “Savage,” the backdrop of her set read “Protect Black Women.” The music stopped halfway through her performance, and the sound of gunfire went off as the rapper, and her dancers stood silently in front of the screen filled with images of gunshots. The pause also included a recording of Malcolm X, saying, “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected, neglected person in America is the Black woman. Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair, the colour of your skin, the shape of your nose? Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet?” Megan spoke directly to the crowd and said, “We need to protect our Black women. And love our Black women ’cause at the end of the day, we need our Black women.”

She penned an opinion piece on Black women for New York Times

In October, Meg penned an opinion piece titled, “Megan Thee Stallion: Why I Speak Up for Black Women.” Writing the piece less than a month before the U.S. Presidential election, she wrote: “My hope is that Kamala Harris’s candidacy for vice president will usher in an era where Black women in 2020 are no longer ‘making history’ for achieving things that should have been accomplished decades ago.” The article also addressed her alleged shooting by Tory Lanez in July, her protest on SNL against Breonna Taylor’s killing, and other critical factors that inform her fight to “Protect Black women.”

“I was recently the victim of an act of violence by a man,” Megan wrote. “After a party, I was shot twice as I walked away from him. We were not in a relationship. Truthfully, I was shocked that I ended up in that place.” She opened up about her hesitation to speak out and how her “fears about discussing what happened were, unfortunately, warranted.” She went on to say that violence against women “happens because too many men treat all women as objects, which helps them to justify inflicting abuse against us when we choose to exercise our own free will.” The piece was not only beautifully written, but it was powerful, honest and vulnerable.

She racked up a whole lot of awards

Let’s tally up all the 2020 wins for this Houston hottie.

She won four awards at the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards; Hustler of the Year, Hip Hop Artist of the Year, and Best Collaboration for “Savage” remix.

She won the award for Collaboration song of 202 for “WAP” at the 2020 E! People’s Choice Awards.

She won Favourite Song Rap/Hip-hop for “WAP” at the 2020 American Music Awards.

She won Rhythm & Bars (Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year) for “Savage” at the 2020 BET Soul Train Awards.

Meg is also nominated for four Grammys for the 2021 ceremony including, Best Rap Song for “Savage” remix, Best New Artist, Record of the Year for “Savage” remix and Best Rap Performance for “Savage” remix.

She released her debut album Good News

Meg gave us something to look forward to when she announced that her debut album, Good News, would be released in 2020. TYSM Meg. “THROUGH SUCH A ROUGH YEAR I FELT LIKE WE COULD ALL USE A LIL GOOD NEWS,” she wrote on Twitter. “MY OFFICIAL ALBUM “GOOD NEWS” DROPS NOV 20TH!” Days before releasing the album, Meg generated more excitement as she shared the tracklist. The album has features from City Girls, SZA, Big Sean, Da Baby, Lil Durk, Popcaan, 2 Chainz, Young Thug, and Beyoncé. She made another dance challenge for TikTok with bodyodyodyodyody going crazy, and in its first full week, the album debuted in the second spot on the Billboard 200 chart.

The album also included her “Shots Fired” diss to Tory Lanez and her ex-best friend Kelsey. In a recent interview on Ebro in the Morning, the “Hit My Phone” rapper spoke about her decision to release the track. “It comes a time where it gets hard to be the bigger person sometimes,” she said. “And at the end of the day, I can’t just keep letting people walk all over me. I can’t keep letting people take these jabs at me, and I’m not gon’ say nothing. That’s just not in my nature.”

Honourable Mentions

Meg was a host on the HBO voguing reality competition web series Legendary (streaming now on Crave) this year. The series followed LGBTQ+ house members as they competed for a $100,000 prize.

She released her single “Girls In The Hood,” putting her spin on Eazy-E and N.W.A’s classic 1987 single, “Boyz-n-the-Hood.”

She became Revlon’s New Global Ambassador and had a collab with Coach and Fashion Nova. She was also named 2020’s Rapper of the Year by GQ.

Megan Thee Stallion took 2020 and made it her year in so many ways. We hope to see her continue to thrive through 2021 and collect those Grammys! Forget Hot Girl Summer. She turned it into a Hot Girl Year.

BEFORE YOU GO: Megan Thee Stallion takes aim at Tory Lanez

[video_embed id='2081731']BEFORE YOU GO: Megan Thee Stallion takes aim at Tory Lanez[/video_embed]