Young M.A Doesn’t Want You to Call This a Comeback: ‘I Learned How Strong I Am’
Categoria: Musica
The Brooklyn native talks overcoming health issues, her new album 'Kween,' 10 years of "OOOUUU" and how rap's become too "gossipy."
Por Billboard | 29/05/2026
It’s only fitting Brooklyn native Young M.A is back in NYC promoting her forthcoming Kween album on Biggie’s birthday (May 21). While she lives about 800 miles south in Georgia these days, she still feels B.I.G.’s “energy and aura” whenever the 34-year-old returns home to the Big Apple borough. Rocking a matching yellow sweatsuit and designer shades on a rainy day following an NYC heatwave, Young M.A is initially disappointed that she’s walking into a Billboard office meeting room for our chat, rather than a vibrant studio for an on-camera interview. “I would’ve saved this fit,” she playfully says. “I wore yellow to get in a good, positive energy and all that. I wouldn’t have worn no yellow on a rainy day in New York.” Kween — which she has inked above her left eyebrow alongside a crown — will serve as the Brooklyn rapper’s first project in five years and comes a decade after Young M.A shook up the concrete jungle with her Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hit “OOOUUU.” She’s spent the better part of the time between projects out of the spotlight, dealing with personal issues and a health scare. In 2023, Young M.A was hospitalized for liver complications tied to drinking alcohol. Today, she’s sober and looking healthy, getting back to being herself again. “I had a time in my life where I consumed a little bit too much alcohol and it put me in a bad physical state. I was on the edge, like real close,” she reveals. “I tapped with God and I got angels protecting me. I was able to fight through it.” Young M.A returned to the stage in BK on Thursday night (May 28) for a hometown show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg hours before Kween arrived independently on Friday (May 29). Even while recording a project sober for the first time, the bars remain razor-sharp, as the MC nestles her life story into a hard-hitting intro track. She also leans into light-hearted moments of fun that come on more melodic songs like “Dancer.” There are a few guests joining her, as Young M.A recruited Tory Lanez and G Herbo for assists along the way. One thing’s for sure, Young M.A doesn’t want her sophomore album to be billed as a comeback. “It’s like a reset, I’m continuing on,” she explains. “This not a comeback. I don’t want people to think this is a comeback. We had a little bump in the road and we got over that and we’re driving again.” Find the rest of our interview with Young M.A below, as she touches on Kween , rap becoming too “gossipy,” 10 years of “OOOUUU” and her real estate investments. View this post on Instagram How was recording Kween over the course of five years since your last album? Ups and downs, definitely a roller coaster. I had to get myself back on track to really focus on the music in itself. One thing about your personal life, it can pull