Megan Thee Stallion had nothing but praise for her deceased mother’s rapping prowess when she appeared on the July 1 episode of Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast. The Grammy winner, born Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, touched on her deceased mother Holly Thomas’ rap skills when talking about the source of her rap talent.
“Me and my mama used to be going back and forth,” Megan, 29, revealed, per PEOPLE. “She was really the one, and I just wanted to beat her, and I wanted to impress her and I thought she was just the coldest rapper ever.”
Megan’s late mother went by the stage name Holly-Wood during her rap career from 2001 to 2007. She eventually became her daughter’s manager before she succumbed to brain cancer in March 2019.
During the interview, the Cobra rapper also touched on her relationship with her late mother, saying she was her best friend. “It used to really just be me, her and my dad before he passed,” Megan said. The rapper was just 15 when her father died.
“I ain’t care about having a bunch of friends and stuff because — and I was a very friendly kid — but I was the only child. So I just loved being around my mom,” she added.
Megan in the interview also reiterated her late mother was her favorite when she was asked which female rappers she listened to during her childhood. She said her mother being a rapper was why she wanted to pursue that same career path, adding that Thomas’ “favorite female rapper” was Lil’ Kim, PEOPLE reported. Megan also revealed her late mother introduced her to Lil’ Kim’s music.
“She put me on Biggie before she put me on Lil’ Kim, and I used to love Biggie so much. I still love Biggie,” the Savage rapper said. “But she was like, ‘If you like Biggie, I got something for you that’s gonna f— you up.’”
Megan continued: “So then she started playing me Kim, and I was like, what is this? So I definitely was on Kim early, but definitely my mama was my favorite.”