Mya -
Mya Harrison, 10 October 1979, Washington,
DC, USA. Growing up in suburban Maryland,
Harrison took up tap-dancing and ballet as
a child. She appeared with the TWA (Tappers
With Attitude) troupe, and went to New
York to study with choreographer
Savion Glover (best known for the Broadway
hit Bring In 'Da Noise, Bring In 'Da Funk)
in a residency with the Dance Theater Of
Harlem. By the mid-90s, Mya had started to
concentrate on her other great love,
music. Her father was a professional R&B
musician, and recorded demo tapes of his
daughter singing. He played one tape to
Haqq Islam of University Music, who made
the unprecedented move of coming to the
family home to hear the 16-year old
prodigy sing. Signed to Interscope
Records, Mya spent the next two years
recording her debut album in New York,
Philadelphia and Atlanta with notable
contributors including labelmates Dru
Hill, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott,
Babyface, Darryl Pearson and Diane Warren.
Released in April 1998, Mya was a mature
urban R&B collection built around the
singer's assured vocals and reflective
lyrics. "It's All About Me" featured Sisqo
of Dru Hill, and climbed to US number 6 in
May.
Mya maintained
her high profile with appearances on Pras'
hit single "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What
You Are)", taken from the soundtrack to
the Warren Beatty movie Bulworth. In
September, her album climbed to a US chart
peak of 29, and "Movin' On", featuring No
Limit Records' star Silkk The Shocker,
reached number 34 on the Hot 100 singles
chart. "Take Me There", a collaboration
with BLACKstreet, Ma$e and Blinky Blink
taken from the Rugrats soundtrack, reached
number 14 in January 1999. The subsequent
Babyface/Diane Warren collaboration, "My
First Night With You", surprisingly failed
to break into the US Top 50. Mya
subsequently retreated to the studio to
work on her sophomore set, Fear Of Flying,
which featured the US Top 5 hit "Case Of
The Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do)". |
