I continue to be impressed with how Mya just carries herself as a person and is comfortable in her own skin, and at the same time doesnt take shit from people, heres a really good interview from BET.COM (probably a first)

The Liberation of Mya
By Tonya Pendleton


Posted Oct. 9, 2006 -- There have been a slew of newcomers to the R&B music scene but Mya Harrison has already staked her claim. Her new album, “Liberation,” is her fourth, something not too many of her competitors can boast of.

Mya's journey from dancing on BET's "Teen Summit" to international stardom hasn't always been an easy road. In her three-year break between albums, Mya dealt with a breakup and family woes including her mother's bout with breast cancer. Then she relocated from Los Angeles back to her hometown of Washington, D.C. Overcoming all those challenges brought a new Mya to the surface as she shared with us in a recent interview.

BET.com: Your album is called “Liberation.” Tell us why you feel liberated at this point in your life and career.

Mya: I’m very confident now in any situation and I’m just enjoying my life right now, as simple as it is. It has not always been simple. The tug of war game between my parents during the divorce was very psychological. In the meantime I was trying to keep my career together. My mother’s breast cancer and everything else were all learning experiences and phases in my life that helped me to become a very strong person. I’ve learned that you have to be happy with what you have and what you don’t have. Someone else’s success is not always what your success is supposed to be. You have to define that for yourself and that’s why I’m liberated.

BET.com: What led you to this kind of freedom in your life?

Mya: I think it was being alone in California and being very independent. But at the same time, it was a very lonely place. I wasn’t focused on being an artist. In 2003, I broke up with a boyfriend. My family wasn’t patched up or on speaking terms. My management company had me in litigation and in court for a year and a half. I’m a humble person and I never wanted to burn any bridges or be a diva or a bitch but there have been instances where I’ve gotten walked over in my professional life. But after going through what I did in court, I did experience who was true and who was not and who was family and who was not. It was very educational for me. It allowed me to say ‘no’ with no problem from that point on.

BET.com: How did these experiences impact your approach to your career?

Mya: You have to know what you are willing to do for success. It takes compromise. That’s why I’ve taken three years off because I was not willing to do certain things. I’m fine with living with less, because less is more.

BET.com: What songs on your new album best reflect the changes you’ve experienced?

Mya: I think the biggest message song on this album is “Life is Too Short,” which I did with Bryan Cox and Johnta Austin. It’s about the reality check phase. Sometimes we tend to focus on our small problems and they are small problems, if you look around.

As far as what I’m looking for in a man and what I want and what I’m bringing to the table, “I Am” is a song where I leave no door closed about myself. It’s a very aggressive, in your face kind of track. I’m very proud of that song.

Did 50 Cent really sleep with Mya or was that just a blow at The Game? Mya sets the record straight.


BET.com: I hate to bring it up, but you and 50 Cent had an issue recently. Can you set the record straight about that situation?

Mya: Basically, 50 Cent put my name in a song insinuating that he slept with me. He had beef with Game and put me into this. I don’t have anything to do with a beef between two grown men. I’m a woman that can speak for herself and I don’t have beef with anyone.

I just hope we can set a better example for our young African-American men out there so no more of them have to die. I don’t need to diss anybody. I do have a temper but if things come out of my mouth when I’m heated or upset I can take responsibility for my actions. But if it’s not my actions, then it needs to be corrected. He needed to be corrected.


BET.com: There seems to be a serious fan obsession these days with Beyonce. As someone who is competing in the same arena with her, what’s your take on it?

Mya: I’m a fan. Beyonce can sing, she’s a hard worker and she has a supportive team. And she’s a triple threat – singing, movies and fashion. You have to give credit where credit is due. Anyone that has to hate is insecure.

BET.com: With all that you’ve learned, how do you approach life these days?

Mya: It’s time to let everything go and not focus on the past and not hold a grudge against anyone or anything. Life is short. You just have to enjoy it and to figure out how to do that is the test. I speak to young girls and they keep me in check and my problems in perspective. Everyone’s gone through something. I used to think I was the only one. Whether you’re dealing with the good, bad, indifferent, ugliness, hurt or pain, humanity is all about how we deal with different situations while we’re here. Life is something I’m definitely going to live to the fullest.

i didnt read any of the above but was that mya in that horrible film "Cursed"?

sosgemini said:

I dont remember the name i know she did a small part in a horror film, plus Chicago,Step,and a few others

sosgemini said:

yep, she was killed in an elevator.

lastdecember said:

She's talkin about 50's "Not Rich Still Lying", a funny, mixtape song where he imitates Game rapping. The song was meant as sarcasm, I dont why she's takin it so serious.

Till this day, I still cannot understand why she would even appear in Game's music video for a song where he calls her an "R&B bitch". I read her other interview on Vibe's website and she acutally somebody allowed somebody into convincing her that it was meant as a shoutout via gangsta standards. LOL! Dumb-ass girl. She set herself up, she oughta just admit it.
[Edited 10/9/06 20:27pm]

Prospect said:

Not totally true. First she saw Game but she still hadnt heard the song, someone told her about the song and she was going to call him out on it, but the friend told her that it wasnt a negative comment, so she said ok to the whole video thing, then of course the rumours started that she was dating The Game, so 50 who couldnt get anywhere with her, heard the rumours and took them for fact and cut a diss record, which came around the time of the whole Game/50 Beef. Mya's issue with it is stop being ignorant, and dont include me in your ignorance. I think we tend to forget that everyone takes Rap Lyrics for "gospel", most of the audience believes what they hear. Everyone believed that Mya and 50 were an item and then that the Game and Mya were an item, so she was just sticking up for herself. I think we see where this got Biggie/2pac and the Faith Evans lyric, maybe like Mya said, im a grown up now, play your little kid shit with someone else.

LadyFunkSoldier said:

TANKS.

'If you want to i can be dirty too
i'll pick you up, spin around AND GO DOWN'!

lastdecember said:

Like I said, thats where she fucked up at. The nigga called her "bitch" and the she pops up in his video for that song, then you wonder why those rumors get started. I mean, whats a "bitch" to you? Being in the video is like confirmation she's a hoe. Matter of fact, theres BEEN rumors about Mya being a hoe FOR YEARS, really aint nothing new, and she done been with so many industry niggas before.



Yeah there was rumors about 50 and Mya dating especially after they took pictures together at I think the MTV or TRL building, but 50 never confirmed that fucked or that they were together. But have you acutally heard that song by 50 tho? The particular lyrics go:

50 imitating Game's voice: "I get mad bitches, plus I even fucked Mya"
50 responding in his regular voice: I fucked her first Game
50 imitating Game's voice: "Man, Fifthy, yous a liar! See thats what I hate you!"

50's song was basically a joke therefore nobody's going to take it serious. The whole purpose of the song was to show how ignorant and inconsistent Game was. Mya's mistake was not understanding the concept of 50's song just like she understood the concept of Game's "Dreams" enough to be in the video.

And the difference this and the 2pac/Biggie/Faith issue is that 2pac went all out and told the world that he fucked Faith, not in song, but also in interviews and concerts.
[Edited 10/10/06 9:44am]