Maiya the Don Talks Hip-Hop, Women in Rap, and New Music

Fifty years in the past, the sisterhood of hip-hop didn’t but exist. The style was nonetheless an toddler and girls had been preventing to have their voices heard amongst the founding fathers, so competitors between them was extra inspired than comradeship. Yet 5 many years later, rising artist Maiya the Don finds herself in the center of rap’s feminine renaissance with fellow femcees supporting her at each flip. Not each up-and-coming girl rapper can say that.

“Everybody that I’ve engaged with has been nothing but sweet and welcoming,” the 21-year-old tells POPSUGAR of her newfound rap friendships.

Starting out as a magnificence creator on TikTookay, Maiya did not get her first style of fame till her huge second arrived final October. “Telfy,” the Brooklynite’s first hit single — a flip of Sisqo’s 1999 traditional “Thong Song” and dubbed the official Telfar purse anthem — was inescapable on social media as her designer-inspired, braggadocious bars made the rounds. “This dress look good ’cause I’m in it / Big body Range Rover, not rented,” she raps with zeal. “I’m in my bag, I’m in my Telfy / Dripped down in Prada, shoes is Giuseppe.” Soon thereafter, Maiya’s identify was in every single place.

After her full of life arrival to the rap scene, Maiya’s fanbase virtually instantly demanded extra materials, and she answered again this yr with singles like “Dusties,” “Keep It Cute,” and “Luv U Better.” But practically a yr after reaching breakout success, the consideration and fame are nonetheless an adjustment. “Sometimes I realize, all right, I can’t do this or I can’t say this,” Maiya explains. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”

What retains the budding rap star grounded, although, is her supportive feminine hip-hop tribe, whose conversations have been about “more than just the music,” she says. According to Maiya, fellow up-and-coming rapper Monaleo is “the sweetest soul” and provides her “a lot of advice,” and Coi Leray — who gave Maiya a refined shoutout together with her 2023 BET Awards look — has been “super kind” to her. Collaborator Flo Milli, in the meantime, was “the first female rapper to embrace” her. “I love [her] so much. I consider her like a friend,” Maiya gushes. “She’s so supportive of everything. Every time I turn around she’s there, you know?”

From present stars like Lola Brooke to icons like Lil’ Kim, seeing “women supporting other women in any capacity” is fulfilling, Maiya says, particularly contemplating their historical past in hip-hop. She shares: “Everybody has supported me in some type of way and I really appreciate it, because I was a consumer of all their music just a couple of months ago. So to go from a consumer to peer — and not only being just their peer but them appreciating my music and giving me props and kudos — is sweet.”

Believe it or not, Maiya pivoted to music out of boredom. Though she grew up with a deep appreciation for writing poetry and taking part in devices, her rap profession started out of angst. “Doing TikTok full time, I found myself feeling super stagnant. I didn’t feel fulfilled,” she recollects. “I felt like I could be doing more, almost like this feeling of worthlessness. I was making people happy with my content and people enjoyed it, but I didn’t feel happy doing it. It wasn’t enough.”

So she discovered a brand new outlet: the studio.

Recording music for enjoyable, for her, is the “highlight” of her week “every time.” And that keenness drives her whilst some might doubt her future in rap: “I genuinely enjoy making music. I think that’s the most motivation that I need.”

Maiya provides, “The moment that I stop having fun is the moment that I’ll just decide to walk away, but I genuinely love it. I think my fans wanting more music from me and just that alone is all that I need.”

Maiya’s connections with hip-hop’s OGs have been a supply of motivation, too. She remembers how working into fellow Brooklyn native Fabolous at Fashion Week earlier this yr was certainly one of her “pinch-me” moments: “I just wanted to say hi because I love him and he knew who I was. He knew my songs. That was crazy. That was a moment.” Not too lengthy after, Maiya had one other surprising encounter with a rap star — this time, a cellphone name from Busta Rhymes. “He just was like, ‘I love you and I love your song and I love your music,'” Maiya recollects, “so that was really cool.”

Maiya would not let these moments go to her head, although. Walking in the footsteps of her hip-hop predecessors, particularly girls who paved the approach for her, retains the rapper humble. “It wouldn’t be Maiya the Don without every single person, from MC Lyte to Cardi B. Every single one of ’em has made their mark in some way for me to be able to do something in this industry,” she says. “So I give props to every single [one of them].”

She would not thoughts getting in the studio with any of them both, like Cardi, Lakeyah, or Brooke once more (Milli’s “Conceited” remix collab). She says, “Honestly, listen, anybody who needs a verse outta Maiya the Don, I’m a text away, forreal. I got a verse for all of them.”

“Cause I’m a really big fan and I love what we’re doing as women in rap,” Maiya continues. “I feel like we’re really taking over and doing our biggest one yet. So camaraderie and coming together as one to do one big thing is really important to me. I support everybody whether they support me or not. Love what everybody’s doing.”

Still on her “come-up” journey, Maiya is taking her time together with her future releases as she builds her discography, so do not anticipate an album or EP simply but. “I’m still grinding, I’m still doing things to show people that I do this,” she explains. “I’m still in the stage where I’m developing as an individual and an artist. I’m still learning. I’ll forever learn though. I’m always a student.”

While Maiya’s conserving the remainder of her strikes near the chest for now, her “biggest goal” stays making her youthful self proud. And above all, she’s centered on “having fun” — as she places it, “that’s where I’m at right now.”