Straight Outta Houston Straight Outta Houston

Houston often gets swept under the rug as one of the lifestyle meccas of the U.S., but it’s time for us to highlight all of the greatness that this city has to offer. When I think of the greatness of Houston, one iconic person comes to mind. We immediately win the battle of great things to come from a city because the Queen herself was born and raised here.

Beyoncé is one of Houston’s treasures, and Houstonians everywhere take great pride in the fact that we can say that we live in the city that one of the most influential artists of all time is from.

She has been a staple in the music industry since the late ‘90s and her presence has continued to be seen decades later. Houston in general has produced so many amazing artists in the music industry, which is something that we can’t ignore.

Megan Thee Stallion rose to fame on social media when she started posting freestyles around 2015. She

BY: SHAWN OWENS

swag of male rappers like Bun B and Pimp C.

As Houstonians we all love Queen Bey, and Meg has always spoken about how much of an influence she was on her.

They collaborated on the Grammy-winning remix of “Savage,” where Houston is referenced all throughout the song, down to the single’s cover art.

This is obviously what Lizzie McGuire meant when she said this is what dreams are made of.

To close off the greatness in the music industry, we can’t skip over another iconic queen. Lizzo might not have been born here, but she has the right to call Houston home. She’s even a fellow Coog!

She became the first Black female R&B singer to hold the highly coveted number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 since Rihanna’s 2012 hit “Diamonds.” possessed a new energy that we were not seeing in female rap at the time. It was ultra feminine, but at the same time holding the

We’ve got Beyoncé, Meg and Lizzo, but they’re not the only queen’s hailing from H-Town. The G.O.A.T. Simone Biles is also a Houston native. With a total of seven Olympic medals and numerous other world championship wins, Biles is arguably the greatest athlete to come out of Space City.

Not only is Houston the breeding grounds for greatness, there’s also so much to do here. If you’re an art lover like me, there are a multitude of museums, art galleries and street art to see around the city. Another way that art presents itself is through fashion, and as a Houstonian I whole-heartedly say we take credit for this cowboy boot trend that’s everywhere in pop culture at the moment. Being that I am a fashion lover, I couldn’t write this piece without talking a bit about the way this city has influenced fashion in pop culture. Sometimes the butt of jokes, Texas gets a rep of being a honky-tonk, cowboy boot wearing, lacking sophistication type of place. From childhood, I have seen Stetson hats plastered in my grandfather’s closet, and under those, the most outrageous alligator cowboy boots. It’s a part of our DNA. Every year Houstonians flock together to celebrate our multi-week holiday, known as the Houston Rodeo. Here, we see this fashion trend take center stage. Would you believe me if I told you that it’s now a trendy thing to wear cowboy boots in the summer with cut-off denim shorts? Nothing screams Texas more than that! Just scroll through your Instagram feed and you’ll undoubtedly see a few people wearing cowboy boots in a way our grandparents would scoff at. But what our grandparents don’t see is that this trend is giving all that it needs to give taking basic looks to the next level. I look around at this city and it seems as though my appreciation for it has evolved as I’ve grown. Everytime I see the Houston skyline it reminds me just how much greatness has come from here. This city is just as iconic as New York or Los Angeles, and it’s time people recognize that.