Grammy Winning, Multi-Talented Singer, Songwriter and Producer MÝA
Performs at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center’s Soul Sessions Series
Friday, April 26, 2024, at 8:00 pm
From her eponymously-titled, double platinum debut album released in 1998 when she was only 18, Mýa has always been a triple threat of the first order. Her velvet, medium range vocals sizzle the most up-tempo groove, and soothe the tenderest ballad. Her comprehensive choreography encompasses everything from tap and Michael Jackson to modern dance, jazz and hip-hop and her compositions contain the right balance of tradition and the modernity of the present.
Those influences, along with her sparkling charisma – whether in concert or on film, television or the Broadway stage – are the driving forces behind her music. A sampling of Mýa’s singles includes “It’s All About Me” with Sisqó, “Movin On,” “My First Night with You,” My Love Is Like…Wo,” the Jay Dilla driven, “Fallen” and the LGBTQ+ anthem “Whatever Bitch.” Her cross-genre collaborations feature Pras of the Fugees and ODB of The Wu-Tang Clan on the upbeat “Ghetto Superstar,” “Girls Dem Suga” with Beenie Man and “Take Me There,” with Blackstreet. Mýa also worked with a wide variety of artists including Bounty Killer, Rod Temperton, Jay-Z, Common, Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight.
In 2001, Mýa performed in a historic collaboration with Christine Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Pink, and Missy Elliott on their sensational hip-hop cover of LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade,” which was included in Baz Luhrmann’s film Moulin Rouge!. The song was the most successful airplay-only single in history, and it won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration. Mýa’s other albums include Fear of Flying, Moodring, Liberation, Sugar & Spice, Beauty and the Streets, K.I.S.S. (Keep It Sexy & Simple) and two EP’s, Smoove Jones and T.K.O. (The Knockout). Her latest single, Anytime, co-produced with her frequent collaborators MyGuyMars and Mike & Keys, was released in February 2024.
A native of Washington, D.C., Mýa, born Mýa Marie Harrison, grew up in a musical household. Her father sang, and her mother played records by Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and many other soul and R&B artists. As a child, she studied many forms of dance including jazz, tap, and ballet, danced on BET’s Teen Summit, and released her first self-titled record in 1998. Over the years, Mýa would broaden her musical and personal horizons by becoming a record producer, an actress, model and philanthropist. When Mýa comes to the Soul Sessions stage, she does so, not only as an accomplished artist, but as a well-rounded human being, who is by no means finished with her evolution.
AWAACC’s Soul Sessions series also has presented Kindred The Family Soul, Peabo Bryson, Angélique Kidjo, Meshell Ndegeocello.
Major support for AWAACC’s operations is provided by Richard King Mellon Foundation, Henry L. Hillman Foundation, Heinz Endowments, and the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD). AWAACC’s programming is made possible by generous support from its donors. For a complete list, please visit awaacc.org.
The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a non-profit cultural organization located in Pittsburgh’s cultural district that generates artistic, educational, and community initiatives that advance the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit organization welcomes more than 119,000 visitors locally and nationally. Through year-round programming across multiple genres, such as the annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Black Bottom Film Festival, AWCommunity Days, TRUTHSayers speaker series, and rotating art exhibits in its galleries, the Center provides a platform for established and emerging artists of color whose work reflects the universal issues of identity that Wilson tackled, and which still resonate today. www.awaacc.org.
(212) 721-3341 | Cmcclair@awaacc.org