As Contemporary R&B artists take to the internet to push and promote their releases, artist’s from the genre’s earlier years born and bred in the major label system continue to seek ways to push it to the heights it once soared over.
One of these artists is Mya, one of the scene’s leading ladies during her time Interscope.
Born to an African-American mother and Italian father, the entertainer’s discography has moved over a reported 3.2 million albums in the United States.
Modest, when compared to units moved by the likes of her contemporaries Brandy, Britney Spears and Usher.
However, in an interview with DJ Vlad, the ‘Moodring‘ maker has shared her thoughts on why artists like herself are finding it difficult to access the audiences (and their support) on radio.
Watch and weigh in on her estimation below…
Mya has a few bops under her belt, it sucks that she wasn’t able to substain longevity.
Tinashe aka Mya jr
Kind of but Mya is way better. Tons she is a looker though.
Love Mya, so beautiful and talented
It is sad that Mya is a bigger star…She has performed with Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston (in front of Michael Jackson), has a grammy, and can dance her *** off.
I wonder why My a isn’t considered a flop even though she is
Because she isn’t a flop! She may not have sold millions of albums but she had many hit so songs in the late 90’s to the early 00’s! You can consider her a flop but I’d rather be a flop than a sell out!
She is a flop whether you like it or not. Her last albums came and went. Noone is really checking for her anymore. Seems like folks only want to call certain people flops. Be honest with yourself: Mya’s a flop
Don’t you stand for Ciara??
If Ciara’s a flop what is My a?
If you have one song that someone can remember than you’re not a flop. Hundreds of albums are released every year and lots of artists try to make it and don’t. An achievement is an achievement regardless.
What song can folks remember Mya by?
But she spoke nothing but the truth this entire interview!
Glad I watched this bc I always wondered what happened to her 4th project and why she went independent. This interview also made me gain a tremendous amount of respect for her. She’s doing what most of the 90s artist should do… Just go independent and
I really love this girl, One of my favz growing up in the 90’s, I really hope her career finds a resurgence…
Diabetic i didnt bother to watch the viddo but Mya isnt considered a flop becuz she isnt considered at all. A total HAS BEEN, only memorable jam was fallin and on lady matmalaid lol was outdhined by pink lil kim & Xtina. Rih & Bey prove her theory correct tho, trap is totally taking over & crossing over into pop… SORRY if u cant keep up. *Blast 7/11 & Panda* #UNBOTHERED
Lol! She isn’t considered at all! I like that! May is a has been whether folks want to admit it or not. Ciara has actually sold more records than Mya and she also has a multi million dollar modeling career. Mya is just washed up
even I’d she’s a flop by your or the status quo standards it doesn’t take away from her artistry or talent! I’m not a big fan but anyone with anytype of common sense and isn’t affected by the hivemind knows that it doesn’t take anything but the “formula” to make a hit today!
There are a bunch of artist out their who have more talent in their left titi than majority of your mainstream artist that are relevant today.
To be honest though it doesn’t say as much about the artist as it does the consumers!
Lmao a repetitive beat and 3rd grade reading level lyrics for the song, money, jewelry, naked women, for the video and roll around on stage in panties for the performance!
You young gays are so dumb.
What about ‘case of the ex’ and ‘my love is like whoa’ oh and ‘best of me’ both the original and the remix with jay-z. don’t forget about her collab with Beenie man ‘girls dem suga.’ All of these songs were hits.
“Fallen” was the s*** too.
That intro was shady on That Grape Juice’s behalf and unnecessary. But this was a great interview from Mya. She’s so well spoken and intelligent. I respect and admire her drive, ambition, and hustle to continue to do music for the love of her fans. Mya has definitely experienced and achieved more success than any of these new artists will ever in their day.
Speak on IT sis! *clicks fingerz like New York* ????
@Cinnamon Girl, they’re both “Flops” to a certain extent. May, to me, is a more respect flop: ppl don’t make fun of her, ppl don’t drag her, they wonder what happened to cause her to flop and can she recover from it. Most ppl would love new music from My rather than make childish remarks. As for Ciara…ppl were routing for her to recover and got it right ONE time and screwd that up. “Ciara” was the answer to make up for “Fantasy Ride” & “Basic Instinct”, it was her true roots with the right blend of pop (Read My Lips, Live It Up, Overdose) yet instead of promoting her record, 4 months after dropping the record she had already started on “Jackie” because she was like 12 weeks pregnant. It’s like she doesn’t give a damn about flopping, she doesn’t put anything into her career unless it’s her performances. Ciara makes it easy to make fun of her because no matter how you look at it, all of her flop records come back to her not working but being at every event and posting on Instagram.
A flop is a flop. A rose by any other name is still a rose and May is a flop. Bottom line. Ciara has sold more records than her
She’s also flopped 3X’s more than Mya…or her other female contemporaries so what’s your point? Ppl want new music from Mya; ppl want Ciara to keep flopping so they can keep making fun of her. Ciara should take a page from Mya’s book a go independent so that if her album don’t do well she could still make 100k-1 million. Her singles pick up but her albums slack, she could still bank either way but she’s too focus on charting Top 40. Hell even Kelly has her own imprint/label now while Ciara is still recording an album to shop around for a major label to drop her again.
Maya’s been out before Ciara and Ciara’s still sold more records than Mya
Mya just because you’re not on radio doesn’t mean R&B has been replaced.
Some of yall need to understand economics. Mya has been winning since going independant because it keeps her coins. Rather shes releasing music in Japan, or touring, she cuts the checks. Since she is independant she won’t have major platforms to showcase her success, still doesn’t mean she’s struggling… Most of the artists yall see and hear about ALLL THE TIME are the real music slaves to the struggling industry. Mya is out of that game, and is working for herself. Don’t underestimate going independant.
Thank you like are we forgetting what happened to TLC and many other acts in the past that achieved higher success than today’s acts yet still were cheated out their money then file bankruptcy and don’t own their publishing/catalog or hell even image of themselves. Let’s not when ya faves need to get on the Real winning side.
Independent doesn’t have an ‘a’ in it.
u gotta see how fly mya looks in this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfD7C9_d1dA
I couldn’t not watch the whole thing. She’s so articulate, intelligent and engaging. Not to mention one of the most beautiful women on this planet and she can dance and sing her ass off. It sucks that she’s not at the top in the mainstream realm but she seems happy where she’s at and that’s all that matters. Keep doing you Mya!!! Btw, Moodring & Liberation were her best albums imo.
Yall are too superficial. Being independent makes more money than going platinum with a label. You split all that money with with producers, promoters, management, so on and so forth. Mya will always be able to book a stage and with that power of independence she will keep all the money.
You know what kills me with this younger generation they call everyone who is not selling or big their a flop what most of yall fail to realize they made their money back in the day and the majority of them release music because they want to not becausr they have to make money , they still tour and get the royalties off of old albums as long as the generation that grew up with these so called irrelevant people you like to call them like them they why are you worried about it because at the end of the day the irrelevant people are still making their money with or without you
It is what it is. White people ruin everything especially if they themselves can’t be a part of it. That’s why all the label heads at these industry parties are butchering the culture. They think THEY decide what’s hot and what isn’t and it’s all based on money. It’s also all based on what white people do and don’t wanna listen to. When the early 2000s was popping black artists were ALL over the radio. Sean Paul, beanie man, method man, Redman, Keyshia Cole, Mary j Blige, mya brandy, Monica I could go on for days. These artists were actually on the hot 100 as well as the r&b charts and all the other stuff was restricted to the pop or dance charts.
You better preach and speak the cold hearted truth.
The reason that a lot of those same artists are still making money is because they can actually sing and with that raw talent they can switch up any way they like and will always book a stage. Nicki minaj was at a Monica concert not too long ago. Stuff like that keeps the legends relevant in an industry where white people control the culture.
And don’t say that it isn’t true. EDM music was created in Detroit by black people but there are next to NO black artists on the hot 100 selling EDM. Why?
You can go independant and still have a management and publishing deal with a huge label for the promotion of your album . Rihanna did that with Anti. She have her own label but use roc nation/sony for the publishing and for the marketing.
Mya is no where to be found because nobody want to make that kind of deal with her.
Ok but WHY does no one want to make that deal with her? Not arguing just asking your opinion.
Lol@ these folks trying to deflect the fact that May is a washed up flop. She went independent and she still flopped
People aren’t flops off of sales alone.
Who is she?
I c no lies. Even black artists with real vocals like beyonce have to dumb down to damn near rapping over trap beats to stay relevant
It’s clear now the glory days of real music is dead. There used to be so much diversity in music genres on the radio. It’s like a melting pot; every artist wants the same sound, same formula and wanna copy their predecessors just to sell. There’s not one original artist out now who’s bringing something new to the table…not one! Back then people put their art before their check. Now they just use gimmicks to sell trash to the masses. I miss R&B…raw, authentic baby makin’ R&B.
She is so gorgeous!! Really good interview. Smoove Jones was really good as well!
I used to live for Mya, but the girls will NAUGHT sit up here and act like Ciara is her lessor. Mya hasn’t even been thought of since My Love Is Like Wo. Ciara is still relevant, still mounting platinum plaques on her wall and still cashing checks while Mya is performing in strip clubs in the hood.
BAM!
I agree with her to some extent. Like someone said above, Beyonce has to cut back on singing and dumb down her lyrics for people to connect to. But the truth is that the music will always reflect the listeners. That kind of music is what your average 18-26 year old listens to. But I disagree with her on one point: radio may be over saturated in that sound but “alternative R&B” is what is really selling. The Weeknd, Jhené Aiko, Frank Ocean, and Miguel (save his last album) are making real and timeless music. Look at how they sell vs Jerimiah or August Alsina. They may have cute urban radio hits and get love at kick backs but no one is checking for a full album of that noise.
I think that is what Mya meant though, contemporary R&B music that she makes and grew up with is not popping off anymore I would say there are three categories. Alternative, Contemporary, and Rachet/Club within modern R&B music
She’s so right. .but I actually think it’s coming back slowly. .I hate that trap beat..every song is the same with different words
Sad thing is a lot of you don’t even understand the music industry. You don’t understand sales, And on top of that you don’t even understand radio play + how artist get radio play. Today’s industry is crediting artist who are “riding the wave” or making anything trap just to appeal to a certain crowd. Mya is one of few artist from her generation that has stayed in the studio and continued to stay in her lane to this day, that makes her apart of the legendary lane. Some of you couldn’t imagine the money she is making. Longevity doesn’t always mean are they on the radio or not. lol the industry is much bigger than the radio. if she still has money to record an album, then she’s doing alot better than somebody checking thatgrapejuice daily just to throw salt at celebrities they don’t know.
Lord they never show Fantasia, jazmine Sullivan or chrisette Michelle any love, what needs to happen is that radio one and ms Cathy Hughes(president of urban radio) needs to be approached about the less real music we hear on the airwaves, and the record labels are not showing them any love by placing them on any big award shows, these award show producers don’t invite real artist r&b artist because they claim that’s not the direction of how the show is going to go, the real shade is they scared to put them on these award shows and give them a platform to perform their material, because they world will eventually find out what they been missing out o . (Basically modern day slavery) and then you have BET NETWORK WHO THEY CLAIM THEY ARE AL ABOUT BLACK ARTIST BUT KEEP GIVING THE SAME ARTIST TO A PLATFORM RO PERFORM, ON THE BET AWARDS SHOW, ALICIA KEYS, JANELLE MONAE, JENNIFER JUDSON, BEYONCE, CHRIS BROWN, CIARa. We tired of them its more talented artist out there then just the popular kids, no shade, they all are talented, but let’s have a mixture and a variety of artist. I get you them ratings will explode
Preachhhhh. I tell people all the time, music isn’t dead, the radio is. There’s not enough people controlling radio play so only a few people get into the cool kids club. Back in the day you would hear of so many artist and groups being nominated for awards and performing big shows, now a days, you hear about the same 12 artist all year long. Its not fair to the other hard working artist or the people that only have time for the radio. They will never hear what they are missing
You really can tell how smart and much of a business woman Mya is and or has become. She spoke very well and knows much of the industry she has been in since 1997/8. I wish her the best and think she deserves it after being such a seeker of knowledge. Its a tough business (I know…) and it would be great to see her pop again. I would love for some people to give her a hook or chorus to sing. She owned them back in the late 90s. Do you all remember her on “Take Me There” “Girl Dem Sugar” and “Ghetto Superstar.” Such a shame that “Case Of The Ex” peaked at # 2 on the Hot 100 and didn’t hit # 1 so she could have had a solo #1 single. She has always been a talented woman.
I so agree with you. Almost all of the features I have heard her on from then until now she has smashed!
I know she is working on a new proper album and she has been hinting at some partnerships so maybe she has finally struck a distribution deal with a major.
She works hard and I want her to succeed.
I like Mya, to me she is the 4th Princess. She was to R&B what Mandy Moor was to t*** pop. But she seems to be doing well as an inde artist and knows her ish. It’;s crzy how much her and Ciara speak alike, but Mya chooses her words carefully while Ciara rumbles at the mouth. Out of all the 90s R&B girls, Mya aged the best.
Mya has a stronger resume than Aaliyah yet for some reason she is always overlooked. She is such a great talent!
Ha! BS, Aaliyah was the first to do it out of the others and set the bar. AND was always two steps ahead of the other girls.
Well her record sales, industry awards and credits don’t reflect that but believe what u want.
I like both, but as an album collectively speaking ‘One In A Million’ trumps any of the success Mya’s albums had. Both are great though, very different IMO though.
great point, but what does aaliyah have to do with this post? fans like you are the reason artist are pitted together. stop this foolery..
That Liberation album would have been soooo good for her if it wasn’t leaked at that time.
Had some very good tracks on it.
Correction David: African- American father and Italian mother
Gorgeous girl! I see Father Time being VERY GOOD to her in the future. Oh and yeah, she DID NOT LIE! I am so sick of this Trap&B trend. When you have legitimate vocalists like Beyoncé and Usher selling their talent short with that tired-a** talk-singing, you know there’s a problem. I have such a soft spot for Mya. She really could’ve been so much more in terms of commercial success but I’d much rather her be happy doing things HER WAY as opposed to answering to a label.
I agree except that I don’t real believe what everyone say about Beyonce having a great voice. She can control her voice, but it is not a sweet voice at all. Rather errata ting actually.
One of her last major TV appearances:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w60dsYjhLRk
She had it all to be a major star.
Nice interview of mya and mya is right about the music business