New York, NY (Top40 Charts) ESSENCE, the leading and only 100% Black-owned media, technology and commerce company at scale dedicated to
Black women and communities, features Grammy Award-winning rapper
Megan Thee Stallion on its coveted September/October "Global
Black Fashion" issue cover. With millions of fans, three Grammys and a new album in the works, the artist has been hailed by music's biggest names in music—and she's not slowing down anytime soon. Megan is resplendent as her alter ego "Tina Snow" for the stunning fashion spread—dripping in diamonds and designers including Hanifa, Cartier, Norma Kamali, Christian Dior, Bulgari, Catherine D'Lish, Orseund Iris and more. In the cover story, Snow No Mercy, she doesn't hold back as she talks to ESSENCE Associate Editor Brooklyn White about everything from working on her highly-anticipated new album, what's behind her fierce drive, her musical influences and more.
WHAT TO EXPECT ON HER NEW ALBUM: "I feel like [my new album] will be aggressive. I feel like this project is definitely something very well thought out. This project is me talking my sh--, getting back comfortable with myself, getting back to the Megan that was on the come-up..."
ON HER MUSICAL ROOTS…AND TINA SNOW BEING AN ODE TO HOUSTON RAPPER PIMP C: "My mom would always be playing Pimp C, UGK, all of the
Houston legends, so that was my vibe, my flavor…Being in Houston, in
Texas in general, I feel like getting in a circle and freestyling is just what we do. It doesn't matter where you at, who you with, somebody is going to do a rap battle. I would see boys together and they would be rapping, so in my head, this is what you do. I wanted to make sure I was always sharp and I could do it…"
ON USING HER MUSIC AS A POLITICAL STATEMENT: "Social media really gave a lot of people a voice that I don't feel like they needed…When I would see these men and these women talking crazy, I thought, Let me put this in a video, because that is my response…"
ON WHAT DRIVES HER: "Every time I make a move, I'm like, 'Okay, how can we be better than Megan last month? How can we be better than Megan last year?'…"
ON WHAT KEEPS HER CENTERED: "There are probably approximately four people around me on a daily basis. I don't see a lot of people, I don't talk to a lot of people, because I feel like it's not good for me. I figured out that my personal space is what keeps me balanced and it's what keeps me centered…"
ESSENCE will extend its editorial celebration of the
Black fashion community globally with its ESSENCE Fashion House experience taking place live and streaming in New York City on
September 9. For more details, visit ESSENCE.com/FashionHouse.
ESSENCE's September/October issue hits newsstands August 24. For more on this issue, visit ESSENCE.com.
