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Mya Marie Harrison was born October
10, 1979, in Washington, D.C, and is the daughter of a Jamaican father and
Italian mother. Her father performed in R&B bands, and must have passed
his musical tendency to young Mya. Although she always knew that she would
work in the music industry, she started out as a dancer. Her love of dance
shone through when a 2-year-old Mya danced in the pool between the
Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. She began to take dance lessons
soon after, specializing mostly in ballet, jazz and tap. While she lost
interest in dance at the age of 8, she still showed passion for music with
violin lessons in the fourth grade.
Mya took a brief hiatus from dance, but she returned to her hobby in 1992,
piqued by her watching videos of herself dancing. She them studied tapes
of Savion Glover, known for his work in the Broadway sensation Bring In Da
Noise, Bring In Da Funk. With the help of Glover's tapes and practice on
Mya's part, she eventually joined the group T.W.A. (Tappers With
Attitude). Mya then headed for New York to study with Glover himself, at
the legendary Dance Theater of Harlem. Thanks to her fantastic ability to
improvise, not to mention the fact that Glover was impressed with her
tapping talent, Glover gave Mya a solo spot at a Kennedy Center
performance. Almost giving back what she learned from the incomparable
Savion Glover, Mya has been teaching children dance ever since the age of
14.
When Mya's father heard her sing, it was then that he became dedicated to
helping her pursue a career as a singer. Under his guidance, Mya recorded
some demo tapes and perfected her vocals. He brought her demo tapes to a
club where he was performing, where as luck would have it, the President
and CEO of University Music, Haqq Islam was present.
Islam came to the Harrison residence to see if Mya's voice was as good in
person as it was in her demos, and after a living room audition, where Mya
performed songs from En Vogue, she was signed to a record deal. Thanks to
a strict upbringing emphasizing the importance of education, Mya had
already finished high school by the time she had a record contract.
The budding starlet intended on studying speech communications at the
University of Maryland, but the intense schedule associated with working
on a debut album were too stringent and Mya opted to focus on her true
passions. So, she ventured into communication of another sort; singing to
millions of fans.
Mya's self-entitled debut album was released in 1998, and featured
collaborations with such R&B hard hitters as Babyface, Missy "Misdemeanor"
Elliott and Dru Hill. The critically acclaimed album went platinum and
spawned hits such as "It's All About Me" (a duet with Sisqo) and "Movin'
On".
While her album was becoming a commercial success, Mya's collaboration
with Pras and Ol' Dirty Bastard for "Ghetto Supastar" (off the Bulworth
soundtrack) and her work with Blackstreet for "Take Me There" (off the
Rugrats soundtrack) only spread her fame and success even thicker. Mya
also contributed a track to the Life soundtrack.
Mya's latest release, Fear of Flying, includes the producing efforts of
Wyclef Jean and Jerry Duplessis, and features the collaborations of
She'kspere & Kandi and Soulshock & Karlin. The album, which also
highlights Mya's songwriting abilities, emphasizes her professional and
personal growth, but still may not differentiate her from fellow R&B young
divas such as Aaliyah, Brandy or Monica.
Known for her moves, voice and presence while performing on her popular
tours, Mya also lent her vocals on the Lilith Fair, sharing the bill with
artists such as Jewel, Lisa Loeb, and Sarah McLachlan. With her eye on
producing, Mya also designs clothes, is a former spokesperson for Bongo
jeans, and is involved in the Secret to Self Esteem program, focusing on
teen issues. |
