Brooklyn indie rapper Young M.A—born Katorah Marrero—is unique among her peers. While her low voice, stud swagger, and off-the-charts machismo may give the impression she uses alternate pronouns, the artist has made it clear she’s perfectly at home in her assigned female gender. She named her 2017 EP Herstory, after all, and followed that up with last year’s critically acclaimed Herstory in the Making.
Dedicated to her brother, Kenneth Ramos, who was stabbed to death by a former friend in 2009, Young M.A’s first full-length is a hazy roller-coaster ride through her journey to rap stardom, losing people along the way, and developing some deep-seated trust issues. (After her certified platinum single “OOOUUU”—found on the Herstory EP—garnered loads of attention from labels, she turned them all down, opting to start her own imprint, M.A Music.)