Joining tennis champ Naomi Osaka and model Leyna Bloom as one of three stars for the 2021 issue, the 'Hot Girl Summer' hitmaker becomes the first female rapper to grace the swimsuit edition cover.
- Jul 20, 2021
AceShowbiz - Megan Thee Stallion has landed one of three coveted Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition covers.
The three-time Grammy-winning rapper, who coined the phrase "Hot Girl Summer", is certainly living up to it as she sizzles on the front of the magazine's annual swimsuit edition while wearing a light brown bikini with strappy cut-out top and high-cut string bottoms. And inside the pages she poses on the beach as the tide washes in, wearing a hot pink petal-inspired top with bright green bottoms.
Megan is one of three cover stars for the 2021 issue; also included are tennis champ Naomi Osaka and model and actress Leyna Bloom, who makes history as the first transgender cover star.
"When I got the call that they wanted me on the cover, I was like, 'Wha--? Me?' And to be the first female rapper on the swim cover makes it extra special. It feels amazing!," Megan tells People, explaining she was stunned to get the call up.
The "Thot Sh**" rapper shared she trained "for months" to get her famous curves ready for the "magical" shoot.
"I had been training for months and I was super prepared. I got into the shoot right away. [Photographer] James [Macari] said he usually doesn't get into the water until the fourth or fifth set-up, but we were both in the ocean from the start," Megan says. "The day was perfect and I had a blast."
Megan also recalled being inspired by Tyra Banks, the first Black model to land a solo cover in 1997 and Beyonce who covered the publication for its 2007 issue.
"My earliest memory of a SI Swimsuit cover was Tyra," Megan recalls. "I remember thinking, 'Wow, this girl looks like me!' Here is this stunning Black woman owning her curves and it made a big impact. It made me think, maybe I can be on the cover of SI Swim one day. And guess what -- I am!"
MJ Day, Editor in Chief of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit describes the "WAP" star as a "magnetic powerhouse taking the world by storm" who, together with her fellow cover stars Osaka and Bloom, "represent three of the most powerful voices of today."
The issue (out July 22) features two other musical stars, Tinashe and Anitta, as well as past SI Swim cover models including Olivia Culpo, Jasmine Sanders and Kate Bock.
