Last summer, "Ghetto Supastar" proved that Pras, one-third of the Holy Trinity that is the Fugees, could deliver a solo hit that resonated, just as band mates Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean did. But more importantly, it was the song that introduced the world to Mya, the petite princess with the sexy hair and the silken voice, who softened the single and spiced up the video. Although the 18-year-old R&B diva already had a gold single, "It's All About Me," before "Ghetto Supastar" dropped into heavy rotation, hip-hop fans hardly pricked their ears and bugged their eyes at the sound and sight of Mya until the single from Bulworth began blasting from every car stereo. Almost immediately, hip-hop fans were throwing Mya's name around, wondering who she was, where the apostrophe in her name went (over the y), when her album was coming out. Soon after, hard-edged rappers and superproducers were seeking out Mya's soulful sass on collaborations. All this attention, and the lady had yet to release her self-titled debut.

With one gold and two platinum singles under her cinched belt, Mya's doin' some more damage on the airwaves with the first single from the Rugrats soundtrack, "Take Me There (featuring Blackstreet, Mase, and Blinky Blink)," and "Movin' On," the remix from the Belly soundtrack. She may look like an innocent, pretty young thing, but that doesn't mean Mya can't hang with the big boys. Having collaborated with Pras, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Raekwon, Noreaga, and Silkk the Shocker, Mya has held her own in some pretty tough company. And as the only solo female on this year's Smokin' Grooves Tour, where she performed her set between rappers like Busta Rhymes, Gang Starr, Cypress Hill, Canibus, and Public Enemy, Mya's proven she's got the chops to rise beyond the fleeting fame of one smash single. To wit: the singer also writes, dances, choreographs, and was nominated for Soul Train's Artist of the Year Award. RS Online sat down with the multi-talented Mya for the scoop on her singles, her peers, and kicking it in a male-dominated industry.

How did you land the female vocal part of "Ghetto Supastar," as a relative-unknown?

My record company, Interscope, was in control of the soundtrack for Bulworth. Pras was doing a song and they were looking for a female to perform on it. So my record company said, "Take a listen to her album." But they were looking for established artists. They were trying Mary J. Blige and other people, so they were like, "No, no, no, we don't know if it's going to work." It wasn't until ODB came and put a rap on the track that [he] was like, oh I like her.

So it was ODB that really made it all happen?

Of course the record company, and Pras and Wyclef [helped], but Wyclef told me that it was ODB who chose me. He was like "No, I'm feelin' her," and usually he doesn't like to work unless he has it his way. He's that type of person. So they were like, "OK, maybe this is the one."

When "Ghetto Supastar" came out, everyone wondered who you were and where you came from.

I think "Ghetto Supastar" brought me a lot more attention. Like, wow, the Fugees are an 18-million [album-]selling group, and how did she get with them? I think if any unknown artist got on the song, just because it's the Fugees, it may have happened like that. The whole hype about it was like, is she related? That's the first thing people think, and when the answer is no to that, it's like, "Well, how? You must be dope if you're hanging around these dope people."

Did a lot of people want to collaborate with you afterwards?

Well, we approached Silkk the Shocker, and they never do songs with people. And after that people were like, "Well hold up -- Cisco, Pras, Wyclef, and Silkk? Hold on, something's going on here." So people started asking me to do songs with them right and left. Foxy Brown, producers like Rodney Jerkins, and so many other people.

On the Smokin' Grooves Tour, you were the only female among a whole crew of pretty roughneck rappers.

Hey, that's where I'll have to learn, and if I can't hang, then I'm not ready. But I'm willing to take that challenge and embarrass myself. I learn quickly, too. It was great. I felt like, they're here to see rap music, they're not going to accept me, and no one knows me, only from that song. And I didn't want to be known only as the girl who does "Ghetto Supastar," so my managers worked it out that I could at least do ten minutes of my own stuff. So I got to do my own show and that's when "Movin' On" started getting played. By the end of the tour, it was a major hit and people were singing the words to the song. So I kind of watched it happen before my eyes, from no one knowing my songs, to everyone.

Do you think you're following in Mary J. Blige's footsteps, as an R&B girl who's down with the hardcore rappers?

I guess you could say that. I never really thought about that before, but now that you mention it, I can definitely see the similarities. In fact, the first demo song I've ever done in my whole life was Mary J.'s version of "Sweet Thing." It was just to practice in a basement studio, but I also do a cover of it in my shows.

Where do you want your career to go in the future?

I'm shooting my first movie this month. Spike Lee's In Too Deep. I play Omar Epps' girlfriend. It's something small to start out with. I'm not going to take a lead role, that just wouldn't be me right now. In the long run, singing and entertaining and live performances are first. That's my dream, to put on the bomb stage show. That's what I love. I want to keep people entertained. I want to set trends and get people's attention and then keep it.

TIARRA MUKHERJEE
(November 19, 1998)