Mya quotes:

The biggest challenge is self-financing 100% of everything. Recording costs, studio time, engineer fees, travel costs are all a part of the creation process. Then after the creation, there are producer fees, mixing, mastering, photo shoots, artwork, packaging, artist feature fees, legal fees, clearances, and so on that must be covered before any music can officially be released to the public.

At an early age through the arts, I was fortunate to find an outlet to learn & apply, express myself, create, develop a positive image of myself, and a feel of importance, and significance to the world.

Best beauty tip... Work yourself from the inside out. Eat right, drink right, look right! Positive energy brings a certain glow, so think positive, choose positive, be positive & attract positiveness. It always shows up on the outside.

Clothing, hair and make-up are just reflective of how I am feeling at any given moment and that varies from day to day.

The arts are statistically proven to increase independent thinking, creativity, discipline, balance, and academic improvement in children.

Guys will 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 aggressive to get the same respect as the guys.

For performances I have my favorite go to's like Prince, Donna Summer, Vanity 6, Sheila E, but it also depends on the type of show I am giving. I could pull references from Broadway musicals, Rock Steady Crew, a Jamaican dancehall or gentlemen's club, etc. all within one show. It truly is a playground with no restrictions for me.

My dog and 'right hand man,' who recently passed, taught me that guardian angels and cycles tend to come in every form in the universe. He was 8 years old and saw me through 8 independent projects, from an unsure place to a confident one. And now I'm ready to fly.

Art is the more spiritual side of education that really does saves lives and makes amazing individuals.

Being independent gives me freedom to creatively be great. Standing on your own doesn't always get major exposure or support, but because I make music from a pure place, I am more so excited and relieved that it actually gets out into the universe.

I'd like to be remembered as a good person, that gave as much as she could with what she had to give.

In many inner cities, there are issues of less economic stability, poorer education, community centers being stripped away, arts being removed from the school system leaving many children imbalanced, isolated from their most powerful self... the independent thinker, the creator, the dreamer often leaving children more susceptible to other harmful things out of boredom or feelings of rejection.

My favorite look would be a fresh, dewy face with a bronze, sun-kissed glow. It looks so tropical and reminds me of a place that feels like true home.

My favorite track from the album Independent is Hold On. Everyone at some point fights battles or has struggles, and in moments of doubt or defeat, this is the song coming from a place of never giving up. It makes me think of the angel on the shoulder voicing understanding but guiding you in the right direction to take you out of that dark place.

My music has always been important regardless of other projects.