Singer Mya talks about CD 'Moodring' and tells why she's so open about sex

Jet, Oct 20, 2003

For her third CD, Moodring, Mya has combined red-hot sexiness with soothing, emotional ballads that display her very frank and open attitude toward sex and love.

The title of the CD refers to those body-temperature-responsive rings that were popular more than two decades ago.

"I had a picture of my mother and father from the 1970s and they were wearing platforms, long hair and headbands," she recalled during a recent Jet interview. "It made me think about the whole hippie era. When I was trying to choose a cover for the album, I started thinking about Mood rings and it started to make sense with all the flavors of my album."

She said the album is about the person she is in 2003. And it has songs that range from emotional to erotic. My Love Is Like ... Wo, which was produced by Missy Elliott, is a sexy, no-holds-barred song about a woman in control sexually and emotionally. Besides, Mya loves the fact that Missy Elliott "is a woman and she takes risks. She's out there. She's hot!"

Initially, she said site didn't like the song "I didn't like singing lines like 'My ass is like wo,'" But over time she came to embrace it. "I even came up with the concept for the video. I love performing that song, Wo is about feeling confident and pleasing your man and guaranteeing him that he will be sprung when you're through with him."

"Sprung," she said, refers to "a cocky moment in a woman's life and refers to satisfaction and addiction."

She also wants fans to know that another song on the album, Whatever Bitch, is not a catty tune. "It's not demeaning. It's humorous and lighthearted."

Other cuts on the CD include the ballad After the Rain and the up-tempo Taste This. A softer side is shown on the song No Sleep Tonight.

In addition to Missy Elliott, the 24-year-old Mya Harrison, who grew up in Maryland near Washington, D.C., enlisted the skills of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Rockwilder, Timbaland and, of course, Mya herself. "There are a lot of different emotions and situations on Moodring because I really wanted to show how l feel. I'm at a point in my life where I'm comfortable sharing those sides of me. This album has been a playground for me."

Mya came onto the musical scene at age 18 with her self-titled debut CD which produced three Top 10 singles--It's All About Me, Mac, Movin' On and My First Night With You.

Her maturity was clearly demonstrated on the second CD Fear of Flying with the, hits Case of the Ex, The Best of Me and Free.

Mya's talent and sex appeal was showcased to a broader audience when she was featured in the smash. Grammy Award-winning single Lady, Marmalade with Pink, Christina Aguilera and Lil' Kim,

A trained dancer, Mya followed up on that success with a role in the Academy Award-winning movie Chicago. She will be seen in the upcoming feature film Dirty' Dancing: Havana Nights. In that movie, set to be released next February, she plays a Latin big band singer in the 11950s.

More movie work appears to be a natural progression for her. Mya is embracing that. but wants to take it slowly.

"I had a love for those roles. I'm glad the interest was taken in me. I plan to get into acting, but really slowly so that what I do is really passionate and delivered from the heart."

She's happy and "blessed" that she's been able to accomplish so much in six years, but definitely is not ready to slow down. "I can't sit down," she said. "1 feel like I'm just getting started as a real artist. When I first got my record deal, it was more about being introduced to the business, getting a feel for how things run. I feel like maybe I was crawling before, crawling really well, but now I'm standing on two feet, ready to walk and eventually run."

In music and in some interviews. Mya has been extremely honest and open about sex, "I am very open," she admitted. "I'm not perfect. I didn't wait for marriage (to have sex). I'm not praising it; that's just my, reality. I guess if people aren't for it, then I'm sorry. I am me."

She enjoys entertaining and titillating by wearing outfits that dazzle and allure. "It's entertainment," she explained, "There wouldn't be strip clubs if men didn't want to be entertained and women didn't want to entertain them. It's fantasy. It's very soothing escape. I hope I provide fantasy."

And that fantasy she provides doesn't offend her family members, "Oh man, my grandmother loves those kinds of songs." Even if that were not the case, Mya would still be very. very open.

"I can't really think about what they (family and others) desire for me because I would be a nun. I would. My music right now reflects what I'm going through in my life, not just sexually liberated, but personally and mentally liberated, being able to go with my gut."

Her frankness and honesty doesn't frighten men, she suggested. "'I don't think men are intimidated by me. I'm a really nice person. As a female I've learned what not to do and I've learned what to do when I'm with men. If" you're an independent woman, let it be known, hut don't dwell on that 'I don't need anybody' trap. Yes, you do, because you will be lonely by yourself, Everybody needs somebody. There's a time and a place for everything. There's a time for a man to lay his head and feel confident and you (as a woman should as well. Women like to wear the pants these days and that's fine, but there's a way to do it."