Megan Thee Stallion says she and Beyoncé are ‘like family’

Megan Thee Stallion has had quite the year. From her incredible (socially distanced) video performance at the BET Awards to her smash-hit "Savage" remix with Beyoncé and her role as a judge on HBO's Legendary (streaming now on Crave), the singer is definitely having a "Hot Girl Summer" once again.But, it’s been a tumultuous time too, as Megan recently found herself the centre of tabloid speculation and interest following Tory Lanez’s arrest on July 12th, during which it was revealed that Megan had suffered gunshot wounds. For their 2020 Power of Young Hollywood issue, Variety sat down with Megan to discuss her recovery, career and, notably, her close bond with fellow music powerhouse Beyoncé.

.@theestallion on the cover of @Variety for their Power of Young Hollywood issue.https://t.co/JqSRaUxX7A pic.twitter.com/kvfdRbjbCZ

— Nick (@nicksawaboy) August 5, 2020

Megan’s appreciation for Queen Bey definitely hasn’t gone unnoticed. She got emotional during an Instagram Live after the "Savage" remix was released. “It’s really crazy,” she explained. “Cause my mama was like a really huge fan of Beyoncé. She used to make me watch a lot of Beyoncé stuff. For Beyoncé to even do a song with me, I really have been out for like two years. This the beginning of year two...like Beyoncé?”And now, Megan is giving us a closer look at her budding friendship with the superstar, and what it has been like to work alongside her. Upon first meeting Beyoncé at a New Year’s Eve party, Megan recalled during her interview, she felt immediately connected to the singer. “In the first five minutes of the conversation, I felt like I’ve been knowing her all my life. She treated me like family, and now I feel like I am family. We talk all the time.”Are we jealous that Megan has Beyoncé on speed dial? Yes, yes we are.[video_embed id='2003274']WATCH: Megan Thee Stallion says she’s ‘alive and well’ after shooting[/video_embed]Addressing the incident with Lanez (and all the “fake-a*s news” that followed), Megan says she’s just ready to move on. “I’m not the type of person who can stay down for a long time. I don’t like to be sad or keep myself in a dark place, because I know it could be the worst thing happening, but the pain and the bad things don’t last for long.” She also shared some of the support she received after the incident, including flowers sent by both Beyoncé and Rihanna, and messages of love and support from Chance the Rapper, 21 Savage, and other friends in the industry.

Beyoncé sends a flower composition to Megan Thee Stallion:“Queen, Sending You All My Love. God Bless, Beyonce” pic.twitter.com/u7j58xGs6k

— Thee Stallion Room (@StallionRoom) July 29, 2020

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Beyoncé isn’t Meg’s only friend in high places (far from it, in fact). Nicki Minaj told Variety that one of her favourite things about the fellow female rapper is her "desire to further her education." She explains, “It’s so important for women to feel inspired to achieve goals outside of social media, where the focus is usually placed on their bodies or who they’re dating at the time. Women are more than just baby mamas, and we can continue to prove that by being goal oriented, bettering ourselves and being independent. Megan is the perfect example that we can have fun and be smart at the same time.”Megan told Variety she hopes to release her highly-anticipated debut album by the end of summer, stating that the release will “mark the introduction of a new alter-ego" that she promises will be “the leader of all of them, the boss.” She also hinted that she plans to have a new song about the Black Lives Matter movement, and is in the process of finalizing her “Hot Girl Summer” trademark as well. Hot Girl Summer and Busy Girl Summer, it would seem.In the meantime, she’s releasing a single with Cardi B this Friday, titled "WAP" — and we imagine it might be thee song of summer 2020.[video_embed id='1977627']WATCH: Megan Thee Stallion attends All Black Lives Matter protest[/video_embed]