Throughout Megan Thee Stallion’s half-decade-long career, the Houston Hottie has been pumping out club bangers and empowering millions of women along the way. While instilling self-confidence in others and always providing a fun-loving atmosphere with her songs, Meg has also strengthened her songwriting and sung choruses throughout this time to evolve into the award-winning artist she is today.
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But, to get going on a tenure like this, it requires a surefire launchpad to capture the love and attention of an audience. In the Summer of 2018, Meg’s “Big Ole Freak” did just that.
Female Empowerment
As the second single for her 2018 mixtape, Tina Snow, arriving after “Cocky AF,” “Big Ole Freak” puts every aspect of her artistry on full display. Most importantly, Meg achieves her goal on the song by showing women that it’s great to be exuberant and sexually expressive. In an interview with the Madd Hatta Morning Show in Feb. 2019, she elaborated on this.
“‘Big Ole Freak’ is not just about being sexy,” she said of the song’s meaning. “It’s about being confident, and me being confident in my sexuality, and other women not being scared of being confident.”
With lyrics about her sexual encounters with men, Meg’s openness and brashness make sex sound fun and fulfilling, the way it should be. Hoping to ward off insecure partners, her raps see her demand the same confidence from her romantic partner that she portrays.
See, I’m a big ole freak, I love to talk my shit
And you must be a pussy boy if you get offended
Bitch, it’s Tina Snow
They love me ’cause I’m cold
And you can’t take no n***a from me
I got mind control (Hell no), ayy, uh
The Marriage of Singing and Rapping
When Meg first began her hip-hop career, she was most known for her raunchy and aggressive freestyles, and her aforementioned sexually explicit subject matter. However, around the time she first began to commercially release music, instead of just her patented YouTube freestyles, she gave us a glimpse of the pop appeal she has honed in on more recently.
Songs like “Cognac Queen,” featured on Tina Snow, proved to fans that Meg wasn’t always rough around the edges. With a melodic twang and soft vocals, her I’m on that yac, I wanna dance hook on “Cognac Queen” made way for a blissful, R&B-inspired cut. But, we had not really seen her mix the gentle singing with intense rapping until “Big Ole Freak.”
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Her Baby, let me rub, let me rub on ya hook and post-chorus You been fiendin’ for me lately / Goin’ brazy, brazy refrain, matched with fiery bars in the song’s verses, proved Meg’s inspiring versatility for the first time. Eventually, she would continue to pump out hits similar to “Big Ole Freak” like “B.I.T.C.H.” (2020) and “Anxiety” (2022).
The Success of “Big Ole Freak”
Pretty much her first single to achieve mainstream recognition, “Big Ole Freak” saw Megan Thee Stallion land on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time. Peaking at No. 65, the song lasted 12 weeks on the chart and was celebrated by Meg in a now-expired Instagram story.
“We made it on @billboard hot 100 hotties!!!” she said. “Look I don’t have an album out yet, this is my first Entry EVER on the hot 100 chart, never got any handouts, I’m working my mf ass off every day! I just wanna tell y’all I AINT NEVER FUCKIN STOPPING I love my fuckin hotties keep streaming BOF !”
Nearly five years later, it’s clear that Megan stuck to her word. Having won Grammy awards for Best New Artist, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Performance, the 28-year-old has accomplished more than she probably ever imagined. Now certified 2x platinum by RIAA, “Big Ole Freak” was evidently the perfect springboard for Meg to become one of the most beloved female rappers of all time.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella
