Megan Thee Stallion
Kanya Iwana
With Lollapalooza 2024 marking the final stop on the Hot Girl Summer tour, Megan Thee Stallion closed out the first day of the festival with an electrifying performance — and a timely message — on Thursday night (Aug. 1).
After performing at Vice President Kamala Harris’ first presidential campaign rally in Atlanta earlier this week, Megan continued a stellar week by headlining Lollapalooza on Thursday night, three years after her first main stage appearance at the festival and a few weeks after replacing Tyler, The Creator at the top of the Lolla bill. The combination of political statements and twerk-ready hits made sense in the context of her high-wattage show, and went over well with festival-goers, who were equally in awe of her candid stances and catalog of rapid-fire records.
Decked out in a pink sequence jumpsuit and cowboy boots, Meg started her hour-long set with the venomous “Hiss” before transitioning to her more salacious club anthems. The rap star went on to play records like “Thot S**t” and “Megan Piano,” encouraging the crowd to join her as she twerked in the evening drizzle. And with a black towel in hand and a roaring crowd on its feet, she rolled through fan-favorite bangers like “WAP” and “Wanna Be.” “Tonight, I’m not giving y’all my lightest twerk,” she said. “I’m giving y’all my hardest twerk in the motherf–king rain, because I want the hotties to have a good-ass time.”
Despite the weather and the wrapping-up of her summer tour, Meg made her return to Chicago worth fans’ while. She even brought a special hometown guest to the stage, and played a new viral hit in front of thousands.
Here are five of the best moments from the Meg Thee Stallion’s headlining Lollapalooza performance.
-
The ‘Hotties for Harris’ Campaign
Days after her campaign rally appearance, the “Houston Hottie” paused her Lolla show to double down on her support of the presumptive Democratic nominee. “Let me pop my s**t real quick, because [people] were fake mad that I was popping it for Kamala,” Megan said to the crowd at Grant Park’s T-Mobile stage. “I don’t think they heard what she said. Kamala said she wants a ceasefire. Kamala said she supports women’s rights. And she said she’s tired of those high-ass gas prices … It’s ‘Hotties for Harris,’ goddammit!” There were no audible rejections from the audience — the campaign is in full effect.
-
The Twerk Encouragement
It isn’t enough for Megan to simply twerk on her own — she’s a masterful hype woman who encourages her backup dancers to shine during brief intermissions in her set. She even had one of her dancers shine with a solo moment while she performed “Gift & A Curse.” The same courtesy was given to the crowd, as fans broke out into twerk circles and hyped each other up from across the park.
-
The Newest Hit
In short time, Megan has established herself as one of the biggest rappers in hip-hop, as her catalog of trap-infused hits, sharp-tongued diss records and femme-powered jams have elevated her to superstardom. The international appeal of the viral hit “Mamushi,” featuring Tokyo’s Yuki Chiba and given a TikTok dance, has broadened her horizons as well, and went off like a firecracker during her Thursday night set. But overall, her Lallapooloza performance was evidence of her ascension and rightful place as a headliner.
-
The Special Guest
While GloRilla was sadly absent from Meg’s Lollapalooza performance after a rumored appearance, the Houston-born rapper invited a familiar face for Chicago sports fans to the stage. The special guest was WNBA all-star forward Angel Reese, who danced with Megan as she rapped “Where Them Girls At.” The Chicago Sky star mostly stood toward the back half of the stage, but she and Meg shared several videos and hugs during the must-see moment.
-
The Day-One Hotties
After playing songs from her recent album Megan and Traumazine, Megan traveled back in time, and fully morphed into her alter ego Tina Snow, for stomping hits like “Hot Girl” and night club anthems like “Big Ole Freak.” And while her newly initiated hotties were welcomed with open arms, Megan acknowledged the festival-goers who supported her as she ascended the rap music ladder.