Meet The Enchanting R&B Powerhouse… Mya Craig

Emerging artist Mya Craig is ready to take the world by storm. Hailing from Leeds, the 24-year-old talent first fell in love with music at a young age due to her mother’s eclectic taste. From the smooth vocal stylings of Destiny’s Child to the experimental sounds of house and dance music, Mya immersed herself in an array of artists and genres. At 14, the rising star started to write her own songs, resulting in her releasing music independently. Since then, Mya has continued honing her craft while treating fans to immersive and soulful releases, like her latest track ‘IT’S UP.’

Backed by an old-school R&B sound, the powerful song expertly showcases the young talent’s showstopping vocals and songwriting prowess. From making waves at this year’s Reading and Leads festival to earning praise from R&B superstar Ari Lennox, Mya’s upward trajectory is showing no signs of slowing down. We were able to chat with the emerging talent about her latest single, her dream collaborators, 2024 plans and more. Read the full interview below.

Hi, Mya! Thanks for sitting down with Spindle! How’s everything going?

Everything is well, thank you! I’ve just been working hard and soaking up the new release. I’ve been working in the studio quite a bit, just trying to get as prepared as I possibly can for 2024.

We’re coming up to the end of 2023. Can you believe it? How would you describe this past year in five words?

I can’t believe how quickly the year has flown by. I feel like one minute we were in January then I blinked and it’s now December. How I would describe the last year in 5 words would be Testing, Success, Powerful, Faithful, and Obedient.

We need to talk about your latest single, ‘IT’S UP,’ an absolute banger! Can you take us through the creative process for the record? What theme or message did you want to explore on the track?

Thank you! The creative process is mainly always just myself and my producer/songwriter Two4Kay – after the release of my first single this year, ‘You Ain’t Half The One’, we wanted to approach the topic more lighthearted rather than an ‘I hate guys’ narrative. We just got on the mic and vibes out as we always do to get our ideas running (after Two’s has made the beat), then Two’s just came up with the line ‘You’re gonna be the one to make me love,” and the rest was history. We didn’t want to speak about being down anymore. It’s up now, I’ve moved on, and life’s getting better.

‘IT’S UP’ has such an old-school 90s/early 2000s vibe to it. Did you look towards a song from that era for inspiration when creating the track?

Two4Kay and I actually never purposefully make music with the intention of it sounding old-school. I think because it’s music we’ve both grown up on that approach is like second nature to us almost. We just approach it naturally, and the end result always ends up being a modern twist on 90s/2000s RnB.

I want to take back a bit to your musical beginnings. When did you first fall in love with R&B and singing? Did you grow up in a musical household?

Surprisingly, my mum’s go-to genre growing up was head kandy, house and dance type of music; she’s now gone on to DJ with these genres as her main style. She would play the odd Destiny’s Child, Luther Vandross, and Blue. I think from a young age, I just gravitated towards that sound. She knew I loved it, so she would always buy me the latest CDs and help me burn music onto blank discs. My mum really is the reason why I do music. She got me into the performing arts and actually wanted me to pursue dance, but I just always remember dreaming of making my own music.

Who were your biggest musical influences when you were younger? What was the first album you ever bought?

From what I can remember, Beyonce was my biggest influence in her RnB/Destiny’s Child days. I just loved music. I had every album. I’d flick through the pages in the album books and resite the lyrics over and over again.

You’ve been releasing music since 2020. How have you evolved as an artist over the last three years?

Well, interesting fact: I released my first single on DSPs in 2018, I removed a lot of it as I was so young, and it just wasn’t me. Each year, I grew more and more into my voice, into actually learning about music, supporting artists, and I really think time, practice and patience were my biggest ways of evolving. The project I released in 2020, I recorded myself just after having a baby and from then as I grew into finding myself again I guess I grew into myself as an artist. Although, there’s no I in team. Along the way, I’ve had some great people around me to guide my steps and push me and I’ve also had some not-so-great experiences that have made me learn so much.

What would you say to young Mya, with the knowledge you have now?

Always rely on yourself, trust your steps and remember no one is going to be the reason for your success. At times, the journey will get hard. It’ll seem like it’s impossible. You won’t understand why certain things happen, but it’ll all make sense in the end. Your plan isn’t always God’s plan, so be patient, have faith and trust (I’m still telling myself this now.)

Any dream collaborators you’d love to work with in the future?

I mean I’d love to collaborate with Drake because once you’re on a Drake song you’ve just gone clear forever at that point. I’d also love to work with Brent Faiyaz, Kehlani, and Bryson Tiller. UK-wise I’d love to work with Jvck James, Mnelia – there are just so many amazing creatives I want to work with so many people throughout my career.

With 2023 coming to an end, what can fans expect from Mya Craig in 2024? What goals are you looking to achieve in the new year?

Fans can expect so much more music from me, merch, exclusives, and more content. I promise consistency in 2024. I have so many goals. I’d love to hit another milestone this year and reach 1M streams/views on something, whether that’s a song, video, or project. I also want to do a lot more shows this year, as after Reading and Leeds, I just have this burning desire to show the world my artistry. Some other goals, but I can’t reveal all!

Make sure to listen to Mya Craig’s latest track ‘IT’S UP’ here or below