Young M.A

When I was a kid, my favorite rapper was 50 Cent. He was definitely a big influence on why I wanted to do music.

I like being humble.

I don't care what people think. Not a care in the world.

I held in being sexually attracted to women for so long that once I got that out of me, the music became easy.

I don't like to get comfortable. I don't like to be like, 'Oh, my song is all over the place. I'm lit.' Nah, it makes me wanna keep working.

I'ma always stick to my roots, but whatever life brings, that's what is meant.

I try to make music for people to relate to, and I like to keep it realistic.

I love changing up my hair.

My hair is the most beauteous thing to me.

We are all people... don't label me as an LGBT rapper or a female rapper... I don't like to be labeled.

My brother and I always had conversations about me being a rapper. I always used to tell him, 'I'm gonna be the hottest rapper.'

Black, white, Chinese, it don't matter - I've been told by multiple people that I'm very inspiring to them, and it makes them want to achieve whatever they can achieve.

I never wanted to be a cheerleader; I wanted to play football.

I did retail. I worked at TJ Maxx before. I did fast food at Shake Shack.

I paid attention to the music industry and watching a lot of stuff on TV, behind-the-scenes stuff on old DVDs, and paying attention to interviews from artists and rappers and just really watching a lot of stuff as a kid.

I tell people I'm from all over Brooklyn because I never stayed in one part of Brooklyn.

My mom used to always play hip-hop around the crib, but moreso than that, she played reggae, and I grew up on reggae music more than I grew up on hip-hop.

All I do is work, work, work.

I would go to sleep and dream about being onstage with thousands and thousands of people.

I always knew I would be a star someday. I didn't know when. I didn't know how it would look. I just had a feeling.

The good thing about having a hit record is you don't need too many people. Because now your record is on fire, and I already have a great team around me, so why run to the labels?

I do want to get more involved with clothing, TV shows, movies.

I appreciate every moment.

I never wanted to wear skirts or shoes, makeup, nails, dresses, or even wear my hair a certain way. I always wanted to wear sneakers, stud earrings, hair in a ponytail, and play with the boys.

Growing up, I never expressed myself to nobody. I never told nobody when something was wrong.