R&B singer Mya brings her ‘T.K.O’ album to The A-Scene

Francesca: You came in you were singing, you were humming. You not only have a new song out you have a new album out that came out in April.

MYA: Yes, the album is called, “T.K.O the Knockout”. It’s the thirteenth studio project, ninth independent project, and ninth studio album on my label Planet 9. It’s for my core R&B fans who have told me what they want.

Francesca: It’s not just your voice that we absolutely love. It’s that spirit that comes out of you and it’s also that dance. You are a professional dancer?

MYA: I just dance! I don’t take titles but that’s something that I’ve always done as a child and it’s been a part of my career as well.

Francesca: So, if you could describe The Knockout album, one of my favorite songs on it is “Down”.

MYA: Really? Summer vibes!

Francesca: Yes! It puts me in a positive spirit and a positive mood. So what kind of inspired the album?

MYA: What inspired the album for me was a woman who has had her reserves based on hurt in the past and questions a situation prior to getting into it even though she has hard core feelings for someone we must go through the process of getting to know a person and taking your time this time. At the beginning of the album you have the fall. The feelings are addressed. The questions are addressed. The doubt, the fear, the vulnerability is addressed and then the interrogation begins.

Francesca: So, at what point in your actual life are you in right now?

MYA: Well… I am a single woman. I am very, very focused and I run an independent label and a management company. So, I’m consumed. I am not dating.

Francesca: Stop

MYA: No, I’m not! I’m just so busy. I fall asleep with my computer and my cellphone’s in my hand half the time. Not healthy.

Francesca: Now Mya, if the right man…?

MYA: Oh yeah! I’m totally open to men at the right time, at the right place. I don’t know when that time is but… I trust that everything falls into place when you’re ready.

Francesca: Wow!

MYA: Yeah! And right now, I’m just working on my best self. And so, the album ends, and we’re completely engulfed in love. And I’ve taken that leap. I’ve taken that risk and put my entire being on the line. But there is a process to that so T.K.O. The Knockout.

Francesca: T.K.O. I love that

MYA: Love can do that to you

Francesca: Knock you out, but then revitalize you, too right?

MYA: Right!

Francesca: You’re also on tour?

MYA: Yes! All tour dates are on myamya.com/events. So, find out if I’m coming to your city! But it’s been beautiful. Reaching out and touching the fans and speaking to them. I love the interaction and I love the meet & greets probably the most. Love to perform but I like the one-on-one energy and synergy.

Francesca: What’s one of the things a fan has either said to you or done to you or even if a fan inspired you. What was one of those things?

MYA: They’ve inspired me to keep going because I’ve had some stories. One of those was that I’ve had a baby to one of your songs. I’ve heard you saved my life through one of the more emotional and inspirational songs on an album. Those personal experiences definitely motivate me to keep going in music because it’s not just about self and my personal experience but also how I can motivate someone else’s life. It means a lot.

Francesca: For you it’s not just about music. You are a woman of your word. You say you are keeping yourself busy and you’re also acting! So, talk to us about where you are with that.

MYA: Well, there is a new six-episode series on Bob Johnson’s network UMC, Urban Movie Channel. The name of the series is called Fifth Ward and Fifth Ward is a historical black neighborhood in Houston, Texas which I’ve spent a lot of time recording in. In early 2008/ 2009 I dropped a project out of Houston and partnered up with Rap-A-Lot so that’s a personal space for me as well. Very reminiscent of where I’m from Washington, D.C. Some of the things that every inner city in the United States experiences like gun violence as well as gentrification. That’s all within the series. Me personally, I play the role of a single mother of three boys after my husband is murdered and I have to figure out life on my own and survive and take care of an entire family while having another one on the way.

Francesca: You dance, you sing, and you have a lot of skill sets so how do you use that in the acting world? Does it relate at all?

MYA: I think that when I’m in acting mode it’s a personal experience that I’m trying to convey. But if its theatrical and it’s a musical, the artforms and elements of that I would say lend themselves to conveying the story and the message that you want to get out. And sometimes it’s just entertainment and you’re raising the vibrations and you’re making people laugh and making people tap into an emotion so that they feel something, so it will trigger something within or inspires. So, it can go many different ways but it’s usually personal in the end, the acting side.

Francesca: Speaking of inspiration, you are now inspiring us more because you are getting into a new realm. We know that you are vegan, it’s how you keep your shape, and that’s how you look bomb! Are you feeling the same that you did when you were 17 and 18?

MYA: Yes! But not always though.

Francesca: We know that you are vegan, but now a wine! Congratulations!

MYA: Thank you!

Francesca: Planet 9?

MYA: Planet 9 fine wine!

Francesca: Planet 9 fine wine! So, talk to us about that. How did it even come about?

MYA: In 2016, I released a Valentine’s Day project on the eighteenth anniversary then of my very first song “All About Me” in 1998. Fans usually expect something to happen on those days, especially that particular date in itself. And so, I wanted to get a package together with my CD calendar and I said well what would people love on Valentine’s day? And I thought well me personally, I like wine and chocolates. I offered some vegan chocolates that day. And that’s how it came into fruition. I said it doesn’t exist, I don’t know where to get it and this is something that I need to develop.

Francesca: What’s your favorite wine?

MYA: Plum Wine which is a Japanese dessert wine which is my favorite wine. It’s very sweet, probably not something that you want to do every day. But red wine is actually good for your blood, good for your heart, a de-stressor, cancer preventer. So, one glass a day doesn’t hurt, I love my red wine. So, this wine that I developed has plum infusions, it’s a red cabernet.

Francesca: So, a lot of men, they’ll be watching this. They want to know, what is the perfect either gift or date for Mya?

MYA: The perfect gift would probably be something animal oriented. I love animals!

Francesca: What about a date? What would be perfect?

MYA: Probably a spa so that I can decompress. Yeah, it’s very nice, it’s very intimate, very relaxing.

Francesca: Okay, and how can we find out about how to purchase the wine? Tasting the wine?

MYA: The wine is available exclusively on myamya.com/shop. And let me know how you like it if you do indulge.

Francesca: What is next for Mya? You have tapped into a lot of different industries but where do you see yourself? You just came in here and said, “I’m just getting started.” That was a heavy teaser you gotta give me something good! Where are you going next?

MYA: Well, I’ve directed and produced a couple of videos so far. One is coming out on Monday on MTV’s TRL at 8 a.m. And I collaborated with Daylin Hooks the world-renowned choreographer who directed her first video “Damaged” off of the T.K.O. project. I directed and produced another one coming August. So, behind the camera something I like, you know. I’m already working on the next album for 2019.

Francesca: Really? You’re just spitting them out with quality!

MYA: Independent! Freedom!

Francesca: Did you want to touch on that? You had a situation where you weren’t independent, and you were kind of tied down, locked down?

MYA: Well, I wouldn’t call it jail or anything like that. But hey! The major label system has been beautiful part of my career. It helped establish me as a brand and I wouldn’t be “Mya the singer” without the support of Interscope, Universal Music Entertainment, and Motown. But hey, things happen, and I had an album leak, my fourth album in 2007. So instead of going to court and all that stuff, I decided to just go independent. I had invested two years into that album, so it was heartbreaking and a bit devastating. So, I just took matters into my own hand and am trying to figure out the infinite journey and it has been very rewarding.

Francesca: So, what brings you to Atlanta?

MYA: Well, I’ll be performing live in the A-T-L at the Trap & Stack Exotic Bully Expo at the Gwinnett County Fair Grounds on Saturday, July 21. Classics on deck, new music on deck, a meet and greet, brand new T.K.O. CD if you like signing. But it’s a family affair, all ages are welcome. We’re celebrating a particular breed that has a stigma attached to it. Just like pit bulls and Rottweilers, and German shepherds and the exotic Bully. It’s a rare breed but they offer a lot of healing for those that are depressed.