Maiya The Don Talks New Album 'Precious Cargo'

Maiya The Don can teach a masterclass on confidence. The curvy queen recently released her album Precious Cargo and it is a bold display of her personal swag, divine feminine energy and lyrical prowess. After all, the BK-native dubbed herself Sistopher Wallace on Instagram.

“I call it like a coming of age story,” said Maiya in a candid chat. “It’s a lot more vulnerable, a lot more honest than I’ve ever been in my music.”

My introduction to Maiya The Don came courtesy her viral and popular song “Telfy.” The buzzy 2023 single made the 24-year-old a household name among Black women who proudly rocked the trendy bag. It even led to a collaboration with the the brand.

“He was so early and so supportive with the song and working with me to develop the bag and to be in the stores,” she shared. “He’s a really good friend of mine. And he’s so near and dear to my heart because he’s so genuine. He is, like, so funny. I want everybody to meet him. I just wanna put him in a bottle and spray him when I’m sad.”

Maiya The Don ‘Precious Cargo‘

Precious cargo can be a double entrendre for the Louis Vuitton trunk on her album cover or a metaphor for the curvy body she carries with pride.

“I’m very beautiful. I had the pleasure of growing up and being told that I was beautiful and knowing and understanding that, you know, I am pretty and my confidence comes from within. And being a fat woman, navigating these spaces was kind of difficult,” explained the 2024 XXL Freshman.

“I had some grievances and some ill experiences, but I think that the reality of living in a plus-sized body. People don’t like fat people. That’s just what it is. But I think I’ve felt comfortable in my skin at every stage that it’s been in. This body took me on a 17-city tour and overseas on tour, so I think I appreciate it a lot more than anybody else should.”

For Maiya, the misogynistic industry has taught her to value herself as more than a sexual object. “In hip-hop, women are seen as sex symbols, and they are diminished to that and what they look like. It’s unfair.”

“My body has never been a playground for people to talk about, and a space for people to feel comfortable to comment on. That’s not why I exist. That’s not what I’m here for. And if it was, I would be in sex work and not music. So that’s just never been my thing. I think, people think that I preach this confidence and body positivity thing, when in reality, I’m just who I am, and I look the way that I do, and it makes people uncomfortable.”

Stream Precious Cargo, now.