It has been over 10 years since Mia X released a major music project. But now she's back, stronger than ever, cooking up a new album: Betty Rocka Locksmith. Like any artist, Mia X has many new challenges that she'll have to face, but nothing she can't handle. In the time since we saw her last, Mia X, née' Mia Young, has had to deal with the death of her parents and the disastrous effects of Hurricane Katrina. If anything, the tragedy has only strengthened her character and given her a candid outlook on life, which is evident in her music. Also, being a mother of two, Mia's mothering instincts kick in regularly, whether she's dishing out a plate of Creole food to the producers in the studio, or educating youth about the violence that is the harsh reality of the streets. Now, she speaks out about her music and the major influences that have provided her with the strength and motivation that she needs to continue on her designated journey.

HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR CAREER BLOSSOMING THIS TIME AROUND?
MIA X: I can see it blossoming by gaining an extended fan base. I think I have something to offer as far as giving people some of the music that I think they've been missing. You know, the game has changed and there is female representation in hip-hop, however, there's not many females doing the type of music that I was doing. I've touched on a lot of real issues that women face every single day. I think that's going to be a breath of fresh air for a lot of the people that's buying music now.

WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME CHALLENGES THAT YOU HAVE FACED GETTING BACK INTO THE BOOTH?
MIA X: There really aren't any challenges because in all honesty, writing music, making beats comes pretty easy to me. And I don't want to do 'easy' lightly, because I think all artists are gifted, so it's a blessing. The challenge is that we're in a new millennium, the game has changed, the subject matter has changed, so the challenge is going to be reintroducing myself to an audience that is probably a little too young to really vibe to my music. Many of them that's in the club now they were probably sneaking, listening to Mia X music, because my music was very raw. I'm very happy and very proud and honoured to say that the majority of the people that like what I was bringing to the table when I was an actual recording and performing artist, they are still riding for me, so that is a blessing.

HAS YOUR PARENTS' DEATH SHAPED YOUR MUSIC IN ANY WAY?
MIA X: I did a song with the legendary Billie Wright. We did a remake of her "After the Pain" song, and we called it "Life After the Pain". There is a verse dedicated to my parents being gone. My parents were very supportive of my music, they were my biggest fans. One thing about my music, I haven't watered it down or cut any corners because my parents are dead. My mom has always told me whatever subject matter you pick to speak about, just always tell the truth. She didn't care if I used profanity, she just didn't want it to sound simpl-ish? So I want to dedicate it to telling the truth and being true to the art form of hip-hop because that's what my mom wanted. She wanted me to just keep it real.

WHAT ARE SOME INFLUENCES THAT OCCURRED THAT HAVE STRENGTHENED YOUR CHARACTER AND HELPED YOU TO DEAL WITH CERTAIN ISSUES IN YOUR LIFE?
MIA X: I was a single mom. I had two jobs. My children were in private school. I had to juggle finances to make sure I could pay for their education. I was just going through a lot of things that everyday women go through. With that, I had decided to take a lot of the pain that I was going through, a lot of the accomplishments, a lot of the things I was confused about; I turned those things into poems.

SO ARE THERE ANY PARTICULAR SONGS ON THE ALBUM THAT REFLECT THE EXPERIENCE YOU WENT THROUGH BEING A SINGLE MOTHER AND TAKING CARE OF YOUR TWO CHILDREN?
MIA X: Yes, I have a song called "Shine". It's an ode to single mothers. I have a song called "Grown Woman", and it's a reflection about where I was as a young lady, as opposed to growing up and becoming a grown woman. I have another song called "Hush", and that song touches on the violence. The young kids are living in an extremely violent and hostile environment, so many of them are dying so young and I'm talking to them from a mother's perspective, the way we feel when we lose our children, the emptiness. So I have a few songs that really talk about a lot of the things that are going on in the world, a lot of things that have happened to me, a lot of things that I think happened to other ladies. One of the things is that I want ladies to be able to look at my music and they can be able to say: "Wow, I remember when I was feeling like that, I remember when I was going through that."



WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO DEDICATE THE SONG "GET 'DA PAPER" TO THE '80S GENERATION?
MIA X: I am a very serious product of the '80s. I experienced many things in the '80s, from growing pains to clubbing. I noticed with fashion, so many people were wearing hairstyles like right now today and wearing clothes the way we wore. And I was like, "You know what? I'm going to show them what it was really like. I want them to see the kind of cars we drove, the kind of shoes we wore, the hairstyles, I want them to really see it, because we see the '80s influence in all of this stuff today. But I wanted them to see the authentic stuff and I wanted them to hear the slang that we used, we used to talk different. So in this song, I'm using the slang, every word that I use is from the '80s, every rip I have is from the '80s, the beat is from the '80s, the cars are from the '80s, the dance is from the '80s. I just thought it would be really cool, and I'm just really happy that the younger generation is really embracing it.

IN "1 LIFE 1 LOVE" YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LOVE AND TRAGEDY. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE LYRICS SO POWERFUL?
MIA X: I've had my fair share of love and tragedy, but "1 Life 1 Love"; I felt that was a song that the world was ready for. I think the world is ready to hear real music and I think in each verse of "1 Life 1 Love", somebody can relate to it. Somebody knows a couple that is way out of control with the domestic violence, someone knows a couple that has been touched by the AIDS virus. Then, in the streets, a lot of young people think: "We can be Bonnie and Clyde." I want them to see what really happens when you live the Bonnie and Clyde life; you can get killed and you can go to jail, that is just the absolute straight-up facts about it. I'm just not trying to water anything down, I want to be as entertaining as possible, but at the same time, I want to give people something to think about.

Words by. Alexandra Yeboah