Texas Southern University student Megan Thee Stallion has made history again. She has broken several records for her music, and now she has broken yet another one on the cover of Sports Illustrated! Get the full story from Karu F. Daniels at NY Daily News below.
Megan Thee Stallion continues to make history.
The record-breaking hip hop star has become the first rapper to land a Sports Illustrated cover, appearing on the August issue of the legendary sports magazine.
On the 58th installment of the annual swimsuit edition — on stands Thursday — Megan sizzles on the front of the magazine wearing a $40 zippered nude bikini from her new Fashion Nova swimwear collection.
The “Hot Girl Summer” lyricist, whose birth name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, shared the news on Instagram Monday morning.
“Thee first female rapper on the cover of @si_swimsuit,” she wrote on the social media platform. “I want to thank all the strong women in my life who inspired me to love my body and live my best hot girl life. It means the world to me to be on this cover DREAM COME TRUE!!”
Making history has become a common occurrence for the Houston native. Earlier this year, the “Savage” lyricist became the first female rapper since Lauryn Hill to take home the Grammy for Best New Artist, and her hit collaboration with Cardi B, “WAP,” instantly broke streaming records after its original release.
She is also the first woman to have three No. 1 streaming songs within the same year — those tracks being “Savage” featuring Beyoncé, “WAP,” and “Body.”
Megan Thee Stallion follows Queen Bey as the first music artist to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue since the former Destiny’s Child frontwoman did in 2007.
Megan, 26, joins tennis star Naomi Osaka and transgender model Leyna Bloom — featured on separate covers — for a theme centering around community.
Wearing a glossy black mesh-paneled Norma Kamali swimsuit for her cover, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion is the very first female Black athlete grace the front page.
In a video, the 23-year-old icon — whose likeness was used for a new Role Models Barbie doll that was released last week — said she was “so proud to be the first Japanese and Haitian women to grace one of the covers.”
Bloom also makes history as the magazine’s first transgender cover model of color.
“Among the many things we’ve learned over the past 18 months is how much we value being a part of a community, and how much we miss that interaction when it’s taken away,” Sports Illustrated editor MJ Day said with Monday’s unveiling of the cover images. “This issue represents the culmination of a powerful community — coming together during challenging times to make history.”
