She's the pretty but quiet girl in school who sits in the back of the
class and rarely raises her hand. She's the mysterious teenager whose
eyes warn of a fiery determination deep inside. She's the shy girl you
least expect to be the center of attention. But when 18-year-old Mya
Harrison steps on stage or behind a microphone or even when she auditioned
two years ago in her own living room to earn her recording contract,
she doesn't just blossom, she ignites.
"I'm a totally different person," says Mya. "I really like to shock
people with what I can do. There's no reason for me to flaunt it.
I learn a lot from just listening and watching. Then when it's time,
it's time. Then I let it all out and I can do anything."
On her self-titled debut album on University Music Entertainment/Interscope
Records, and its first single and video, "It's All About Me," Mya is
both the girl who wants and the girl who gets-a role model for an
entire generation. The smooth R&B grooves of Mya recorded in New York,
Philadelphia, and Atlanta are "about relationships," she says, "being
young, throwing parties, getting hurt for the first time, losing your
virginity, hating someone for leaving because it hurts so much, about
all the things you go through for the first time when you're my age-
or the second time or third time as you grow up. The album's about
taking control, saying goodbye and moving on when you're down. It's
about not being afraid."
"It's All About Me," featuring Sisqo, singer form the multiplatinum
University Music Entertainment labelmate Dru Hill, was co-written by
him and producer Darryl Pearson (the multiplatinum producer for the
Love Jones soundtrack and R&B group Jodeci). The much- acclaimed
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Diane Warren co-wrote "My First Night
with You." Mya wrote and co-produced "What Cha Say," and co-wrote
"Bye Bye" featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and "We Goin' Make You Dance," the latter
with Dru Hill's Nokio (who wrote "If You Died I Wouldn't Cry Cause
You Never Loved Me Anyway" with Raphael Brown, who penned "In My Bed"
for Dru Hill). The executive producer for the album is A. Haqq Islam.
She'll also be heard on "Ghetto Superstar" with Fugees' Wyclef and
Pras, and Old Dirty Bastard of Wu-Tang Clan on the soundtrack to
Bulworth, starring Warren Beatty and Halle Berry.
Yet it was dancing, not singing, which encouraged Mya to bloom.
Born in Washington, DC, Mya (she says she was named for Maya Angelou)
was two years old when her father stood her in the Reflecting Pool
between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial-and she danced.
She started ballet classes immediately, then tap and jazz, but lost
interest when she was eight. At 12, she found herself watching videos
of her dancing and her desire suddenly rekindled. She studied tapes
of Savion Glover,the tap dance prodigy now best-known for the Broadway
hit Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk, until she learned his routine
and then joined the group T.W.A. (Tappers With Attitude). She went
solo before heading to New York to study with Glover in a residency
with the famed Dance Theater of Harlem. Soon after. She earned a
reputation for improvisation and an impressed Glover gave her a solo spot during a
Kennedy Center performance. Mya has subsequently appeared on BET's
"Teen Summit" and has taught dance to children ever since she herself
was 14: "1 teach them there's no limit to their dreams."
She's also taken violin lessons since the fourth grade, and has begun
to learn to play the drums. Singing,however, was a different story.
"The first time I went to my grandmother's church it was the night
before Easter. I was eight and my father was rehearsing to sing
'I Wanna Thank You God' the next day. I really wanted to get up and
sing too so I learned the song by myself that night. But I was too shy
to say anything." The same was true throughout her school years,
whether it was talent shows or Christmas pageants. "I really wanted to audition but I never had the guts to just go ahead and do it. I don't want to
do anything on stage unless I'm good. One day, I asked my mom,
'Can you listen to me sing and tell me if I can't?' My father didn't
find out I could sing until I was 14."
Her father performed in R&B bands, her mother was an accountant, as
Mya grew up in suburban Maryland the oldest of three children and the
only girl. Her strict upbringing emphasized the value of school and
working hard to get good grades. But when her father finally heard her
sing, he had her record a couple of demo tapes and took them to a club
where he was playing. There he met Haqq Islam,President and CEO of
University Music. Islam listend to the tapes and agreed to come to Mya
's home,where she sang him two En Vogue songs. "That the head of a
record label would take enough interest to come to my living room to
hear me sing," says Mya who had just graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt
High School in Greenbelt at the age of 16, "was incredible. I was
tense at first but once I was singing, I relaxed. I was determined,
and now when I'm determined to do something, I do it."
Though signed to a deal, she later enrolled in the University of
Maryland in speech communications. But preparations for the album were
taking too much of her time and she left after one semester. "I always
had the feeling I'd be in the business. It's what I've always loved.
It's not about being a star. I'd still be singing, dancing, writing
songs, if this had never happened. Being around the entertainment
business, I've learned not to say 'I'm all that.' You take your talent
and do your best and give it to people. I just want to make people,
and myself, happy. I never dreamed of a record deal, especially living
in the DC area which is not big in the record business."
Nor is nearby Baltimore. But little did Mya realize when she first met
Baltimore natives Dru Hill at a Grammy party in New York in 1996,
before their first album was released, that they'd be so instrumental
in her career. "It's great being around them because they bring a
really creative atmosphere. That gives me something to live up to."
Most important to her for her debut album was, she says, "that I
wanted to sound different musically and vocally. I want to be myself,
not like anyone else. It was also important that the songs mean
something,no bubblegurn songs, but songs that relate and reach and
bring people together. It's a people thing, not male or female, not
one race, but what everyone can relate to.
Mya is many things-singer, dancer, songwriter, choreographer (including
her "It's All About Me" video),even clothes designer (the provocative
red outfit she wears in the video is hers) and artist. "In school,
I'ddraw for people and get paid $5 for each one. But the most fun was
just seeing their reactions to what I created for them. I love that."
Mya admits that, among the many things she is, she's also a bit of a
tomboy. "Guys will ll just go out and do something. Females will talk
about it a lot. I don't care if I break a nail. You have to be aggress-
ive to get the same respect as the guys."
She's the girl you knew had the talent-if she would only step on the
stage or behind a microphone. Now,Mya has.
Source:http://www.fortunecity.com/underworld/raider/182/mya.html
These are the type of street truths that
has garnered Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam's
Jay-Z the multitudes of devout fans that
he has. They're strong, they're hard
hitting, and they're real.
As Hip-Hop enters yet another era of
dimension, Jay-Z is emerging as the
leading "Don" of the Rap game. He
modestly explains his lyrical motivation
as something that just comes to him. "It's
just there," he says. "I don't write songs,
they just form. I could be riding around, I'll
think of a particular topic, rehearse it and
immediately come up with the song." His
penchant for knockin' out flavorful joints
first became apparent when he burst
onto the scene on "The Originators" with
his man, The Jaz, in 1990. Possessing a
rapid-fire delivery combined with
relevant and intriguing lyrics, his buzz
soon spread when he went on to
collaborate with Original Flavor on the
notable cut "Can I Get Open?" Reflecting
on those days of scrambling and actively
seeking a deal, Jay-Z has this to offer -
"My man Jaz introduced me to this whole
thing as a business. And through seeing
all the things that happened to him, I
learned a lot." He continues "after going
to a couple of A&Rs, I soon realized they
couldn't understand where I was coming
from. But I knew there was an audience
of people who understood and really felt
what I was going through, 'cause it was
real!"
Fate (and the streets) would lead Jay
within the circle of young Harlem music
entrepreneur Damon Dash, from which
an immediate alliance between the two
was made and alas, Roc-A-Fella
Records was born. "Being that I gained
that experience with Jaz, I felt that we
could put together Roc-A-Fella. With my
partners Damon Dash and (third partner)
Biggs, we make the whole unit tighter."
The talent-heavy label is currently
churning out hits with the hot R&B duo
Christion, as well as honing a host of
other young acts.
With the release of his stellar 1996 Gold
debut Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z was
soon to become a household name
driven by the smash singles "Can't
Knock The Hustle," "Feelin' It" and the
Gold single "Ain't No N*gga (featuring
Foxy Brown)." Although Reasonable
Doubt has been heralded as a certified
classic by fans and critics alike, the
humble Brooklyn MC is very quick to
place his successful debut in its proper
perspective. "I view the first album as
like an introduction," he explains. "Not to
take away from it in any way, but it wasn't
too detailed. Whereas, with In My
Lifetime Vol. 1, I really took it there."
Ahh yes, In My Lifetime Vol. 1. The new
sh*t. The disc that's appropriately titled
after Jay-Z's 1995 underground hit
single. The flavorful fourteen track joint
that showcases a "who's who" of artists
and producers. The "there" Jay-Z refers
to is exactly the point where unspoken
urban reality reaches a new dimension
from a sharp, articulate and accurate
voice. That sole voice belongs to Jay-Z
a.k.a. Jhigga.
In discussing the new album, Jay-Z
notes, "I really wasn't concentrating on
"music" this time. I've experienced a lot
of different emotions within the last year
and they were brought to life on the
album." Those diverse emotions ranged
from Jay-Z's numerous, flavorful guest
appearances on hot records by Foxy
Brown, Blackstreet, Changing Faces
and The Braxtons, just to name a few, to
the untimely passing of his Brooklyn
partner in rhyme, The Notorious B.I.G.
(whom Jay collaborated with on
Reasonable Doubt's "Brooklyn's
Finest,") not to mention the day-to-day
rigors of running one the fastest rising
record companies in the business.
One cut on the album, "Rap Game/Crack
Game" examines the striking similarities
between the two professions. "Coming
from the street to a corporate business
makes you in need of therapy." He
ponders. "That's what this album is. That
outlet for me." The hot leadoff single
"Sunshine" pairs Jay-Z with his longtime
Hip-Hop female counterpart Foxy Brown,
as well as an unlikely appearance by
R&B superstar Babyface. Jay-Z, along
with the industry's hottest figures, such
as Puff Daddy and Lil' Kim ("I Know
What Girls Like,") Too Short ("Real
Niggaz,") Blackstreet featuring Teddy
Riley ("The City Is Mine,") Trackmasterz
("Face Off,") DJ Premier ("Million & One
Questions" and "Rhyme No Mo,") and a
host of others, combined their talents to
do their thing and enhance Jhigga's
second coming.
Commenting on his esteemed
colleagues on the album, Jay-Z revealed
the reasoning for the all-star supporting
cast. "Honestly, I went to them for selfish
reasons," he gives up with a slight laugh.
"Each artist fit the emotion or mood of
that particular song." He continues,
"when I was making "Sunshine," I was
thinking 'Damn, who else could do that?
With the mutual respect we have for one
another it was easy to make things
happen with Foxy and 'Face." One of the
album's most hard-hitting jams is the
emotional finale entitled "You Must Love
Me." In this song, Jay-Z meticulously
details various personal and family trials
and tribulations. Events that his eyes and
heart have experienced throughout the
years. He admits, "for that song, I said I
can't just record this song. I've got to
have some meetings within the family;
and talk about this and see how they feel
about it."
It goes without saying that his family and
the public are "feeling" Jay-Z right now.
With a brief pause, he assertively states,
"I want to be perceived as a thinker.
Someone who was very observant." "I do
a lot of reflecting in my work," he adds,
"on one verse, you might see me going
four different places!"
And in Jay-Z's case, the only sure place
he seems to be going is up.
Source:http://imusic.com/showcase/urban/jayz.html