By Odeisel

When you keep your clothes on as a female emcee these days, the odds of you getting mainstream shine are short.  When you are hardcore, you can get pushed into the obscurity corner next to Boss, Heather B, and Rage, talented rappers who chose talent over titties and paid the price. And then there was Mia X, No Limit’s flagship female artist, who anchored one of the hardest singles ever “Bout It Bout It II” and went on to certified gold sales on the indie label; an impressive showing in any era.

But almost as fast as her rise to prominence, releasing three albums from 1995 to 1998, she vanished. She occasionally popped up here and there but she seemed content to remain on the periphery, forging a real life away from the industry. Planet Ill caught up with Mia X recently and talked at length about her past, the lessons learned in the business, and how she managed to step away from the madness and get a life. We briefly touched on C-Murder and her current relationship with Master P and No Limit records. Here are the results.

Planet Ill: Female rappers don’t have as much of a presence now as they did when you first came out.  Why do you think that is and do you think can be done to change that?

Mia X: We just have to support the females we like, so the world can see why we like them.

Planet Ill: Many considered you one of the better female rappers from your era.  Do you feel you’ve gotten the recognition you deserved?

Mia X: Yes, I do. My fans are unconditional. They support me on my every endeavor. I don’t care about the fancy name dropping, shiny stuff. I care about having a core-base who appreciates my craft, and I feel blessed to say I got that out of the game.

Planet Ill: What do you think of the southern rap scene now as compared to when you first came out?  Do you think it’s better or worse or about the same?

Mia X: It’s better because artists are getting their money up, and branching off into various things, like clothing lines, fragrances, restaurants, movies. I just want to see them get their money up.

Planet Ill: Are you still associated with Master P or any of the No Limit family?

Mia X: The No Limit family are my brothers for life! We are Godparents of each others’ children. We are close, and bonded forever.

Planet Ill: What led to the split between you and No Limit?  Was it amicable?

Mia X: I left after P decided to do basketball. Then, my parents died. My kids were still young, and my sister was about to start her Master’s (Degree) Program, then medical school. The label understood.

Planet Ill: Do you think you learned anything valuable about the music industry working with Master P?

Mia X: I learned the music industry is what you make it.

Planet Ill: Of all the albums you dropped, which one was your favorite and why?

Mia X: Unladylike because I got a chance to present my 2nlove poetry to the world, and it was fun recording Unladylike. I did Mama Drama in 10 days, it felt rushed.

Planet Ill: You’ve kept a relatively low profile since the late 90’s.  Have you been putting your energy and talents into other things?

Mia X: I’m a motivational speaker. I work with various charities and youth organizations. I have a cookbook coming out. I love to cook. I also have a restaurant. I’m an activist in my city and the nicest landlord ever!

Planet Ill: Do you have any new material coming that we need to watch out for?

Mia X: My mix-tapes Unladylike ForEVA, Micky n Malory: Natural Born Killers, featuring Scarface, and my albums; Betty Rocka-Locksmith and The X-Files.

Planet Ill: You appeared on two tracks on C-Murder’s last album. Do you have any insight on his situation?

Mia X: He’s awaiting appeal, and I’m in his corner.
 
Planet Ill: Do you think you are a better rapper now or when you first came out?

Mia X: I’m a better rapper now due to experience and growth.

Planet Ill: Is there anything else you’d like to say to your fans and the readers of Planet Ill?

Mia X: My son’s name is Sean Young. He is a talented artist who rhymes as a pastime. We don’t know who provided Wikipedia with all of that wrong Mia X info. Sean runs my restaurant, and oversees my rental property. He is a paper chaser.

Skrill-Dilly is my nephew in music. I have several sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters, in music. I don’t know much about his project, but he is talented and I hear he’s been in the lab working hard.

Be sure to get at me @ My Space: xl/miax, Facebook: Mia Young, Twitter@TheRealMiax

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