If you’ve followed Maiya The Don, you’ve probably come to expect confidence.
Ahead of the release of her project,Precious Cargo, on June 26, the rapper sat down with The Curvy Fashionista to talk about the creative journey behind the project. During our Maiya The Don interview, the conversation quickly moved beyond music and into the books she’s reading, the journaling practice that keeps her grounded and the fashion that has become part of her signature.
She’s the artist with razor-sharp bars, effortless style and the kind of personality that commands attention before she even picks up a microphone. But after spending time with her, I realized confidence is only part of the story.
The conversation I expected to have about music quickly turned into one about romance novels, psychology, journaling and the creative rituals that help her stay connected to herself.
Somewhere between discussing Sister Souljah’s influence, her love of vintage handbags and the lessons she’s learned while stepping away from releasing a full-length project, another version of Maiya began to emerge.
It’s that version listeners will discover on Precious Cargo.
“I worked really hard on my music that’s coming and it’s a big change for me,” Maiya tells The Curvy Fashionista. “So I’m really excited for everybody to hear that and kind of know what’s been going on.”
One part of that answer stayed with me.
She doesn’t just want people to hear the music. She wants them to understand everything that shaped it.
Before the music, there was always creativity
Creativity has always been part of Maiya’s life, even before rap entered the picture.
As a child, she wrote poetry because, in her words, she thought she was writing songs. School eventually introduced her to poetry as its own art form and she quickly realized she had a gift for it.
“I was always doing something for attention as a kid,” she says with a laugh. “‘Look at what I can do.’ That was definitely me.”
That same curiosity pushed her toward other creative outlets. She learned to play violin, viola and cello. She taught herself to paint and draw. If something interested her, she wanted to figure it out.
Listening to her talk, it becomes clear that confidence wasn’t something she was born with. It was something she built by giving herself permission to learn.
“I truly believe that I can do anything as long as I just try,” she says. “Nothing is impossible to me.”
That mindset continues to shape the way she approaches music today.
The books behind the bars
One of the biggest surprises during our conversation had nothing to do with Precious Cargo.
It was hearing Maiya light up while talking about books.
She’s currently reading J.L. Seegars’ New Haven series and describes the romance novels with the excitement of someone introducing a friend to her latest obsession.
When I jokingly asked whether readers could skip ahead to her favorite installment, she immediately laughed.
“You must read them in order,” she said. “That’s little ponytail behavior.”
Moments like that make it easy to see why she recently launched The Fine Print book club for readers who love getting lost in a good story.
Reading, however, has become much more than a hobby.
Throughout the creation of Precious Cargo, books became a source of inspiration.
“The books were able to provoke enough emotion out of me to have big reactions,” she explains. “I have to be creative. I have to let this out somewhere.”
It’s the same reason Sister Souljah remains one of her favorite authors.
“Her writing is profound and very honest and thorough.”
That honesty became something Maiya wanted to bring into her own work.
The heart of Precious Cargo
As our conversation continued, one theme kept resurfacing.
Honesty.
Whether we were discussing songwriting, personal growth or the years between projects, Maiya repeatedly returned to the importance of telling the truth, especially with herself.
“It’s been a long time since I dropped a full body of work,” she says. “It’s been a lot of ups and downs and changes and seasons that’s been going on with me.”
Rather than pretending those experiences never happened, she decided they deserved a place in the music.
“I wanted to be as real and vulnerable and honest as these authors are.”
Then she shared the thought that seems to define the entire album.
“You can’t disappear for this long and just not explain why.”
That’s what makes Precious Cargo feel different.
Instead of returning with the expectation that listeners simply move on, Maiya is inviting them into the chapters they missed.
Later in our conversation, I asked what she hopes fans discover after hearing the project.
Her answer wasn’t about chart success or streaming numbers.
“I hope they learn that I’m a little bit more sensitive than I appear.”
For an artist whose public image has often been rooted in confidence, it’s an unexpectedly vulnerable response.
The ritual that keeps her grounded
Ask Maiya how she stays creative and the conversation quickly shifts to journaling.
Every morning begins with a notebook. Before social media, before emails and before the demands of the day begin competing for her attention, she spends 15 minutes writing whatever comes to mind.
“The first thing I do before I probably take a piss, the first thing I do is write in that journal,” she says, laughing.
She believes the habit strengthens the connection between her thoughts and her writing, making it easier to express herself creatively.
The advice she offers is surprisingly freeing.
“You could write the same word over and over again,” she says. “‘I have nothing. I have nothing.'”
She says that’s perfectly fine because journaling isn’t about producing beautiful writing every day.
“It’s not about writing a book. You just gotta clear your head.”
As someone who has opened a journal wondering if every entry needed to be profound, I appreciated hearing that reminder.
Sometimes creativity starts with simply making room for your thoughts.
Style tells part of the story, too
Fashion has become just as recognizable as Maiya’s music, so naturally I wanted to know how she approaches getting dressed.
Her answer was refreshingly simple.
She starts with the shoes.
From there, she picks a bag and builds the rest of the outfit around those pieces.
“I focus more on silhouette than anything,” she says.
That philosophy explains why her style always feels intentional. Rather than trying every trend, she pays attention to proportion, shape and the overall feeling an outfit creates.
While she credits women like Beyoncé, Tyra Banks and Raven-Symoné with inspiring her growing up, these days she says New York has become her greatest style influence.
And if there’s one item she’ll never regret investing in?
A vintage designer bag.
More than a rapper
Toward the end of our conversation, I asked Maiya about legacy.
Her answer came without hesitation.
“I wanna be the greatest rapper ever.”
It’s an ambitious goal, but after hearing her talk about creativity, discipline and growth, it doesn’t sound like a passing statement. It sounds like someone who has spent years building the habits necessary to chase it.
That same mindset extends beyond music.
With the launch of her bookclub, The Fine Print, she’s creating space for readers who love books as much as she does.
“If you’re a baddie and you like to read,” she says, “The Fine Print is the place for you.”
By the end of our conversation, Precious Cargo felt like more than an album title.
It felt like a reflection of everything Maiya has carried with her into this next chapter. The confidence fans already know is still there, but this time it’s joined by vulnerability, self-reflection and a willingness to let listeners see the woman behind the music.
When Precious Cargo arrives on June 26, fans won’t just hear where Maiya The Don is headed next.
They’ll finally understand a little more about the journey that brought her there.
