Don't call Young M.A a lesbian rapper. Since her 2016 single"OOOUUU" blew up, M.A has made it clear that she rejects any descriptive titles that would limit her artistry. When we chatted in NYLON's SoHo offices, she reminded me of her stance,"I don't have to be a female artist. I'm just an artist." Fighting against these kinds of qualifiers has clearly become one of the necessary evils of rap stardom; part of the game M.A would rather do without.
For better or worse, it's been an effective strategy for Young M.A She told me,"People always say, 'I'd be so afraid to approach you because you're so serious.'" I wasn't scared of M.A before meeting her, but I knew that I was taking a risk when I proposed that we capture her with flowers for a softer background aesthetic. Like other successful Black women before her, Young M.
For M.A, online fodder has shown her the best and worst side effects of fame. She's seen her supporters—she prefers this terminology over the word"fans"—go to bat for her in the comment section."[They] will literally go back-and-forth with people. These are people I've never seen before in my life. They just support me on the outside. I get a sense of family from them," she said.
YoungMA OMG I love the lips