Young M.A

Katorah Kasanova Marrero (born April 3, 1992), better known by her stage name Young M.A (acronym for Young Me. Always), is an American rapper.

Katorah Marrero was born on April 3, 1992, in Brooklyn, New York.

Her mother is Jamaican, and her father is Puerto Rican.

Her father was incarcerated when she was a year old and was not released until she was 11, spending approximately 10 years behind bars.

With the absence of her father, Young M.A grew close to her brother, Kenneth Ramos, and her mother.

When Marrero was 7, her mother decided to relocate to Chesterfield, Virginia, as it provided better school facilities and her children would remain away from the violence of East New York.

In Virginia, she started to play tackle football.

When she was 10, Young M.A started to write rhymes in her schoolbooks.

Her mother encouraged her and purchased a karaoke machine, which M.A would set up as a makeshift studio in her closet.

In 2010, she graduated from Sheepshead Bay High School.

Young M.A raps about many of the same topics as male rappers, such as violence, sexuality, wealth, and acquisitions.

She stated, "this industry is male-dominated, we can't pretend that it's not. So when you do make it as a female, you feel more honored, because the guys take over so much."

When she was a child, Young M.A exhibited a passion for music.

When she began seriously focusing on music as an adult, she self-funded a recording studio with local record producers while working at the Shake Shack and T.J. Maxx.

In 2014, she gained notoriety when a Facebook post criticized her song "Brooklyn Chiraq", a freestyle to Nicki Minaj and G Herbo "ChiRaq"; the song then went viral.

The post's author, pundit Boyce Watkins, said the song promoted "violent, negative, and genocidal energy", but the controversy expanded Young M.A's name recognition and brought new listeners to her work.

In 2015, Young M.A released a new song, "Body Bag", which became a "YouTube hit", said Rolling Stone, along with the release of her mixtape called Sleep Walkin', which MTV described as a "thoughtful debut project".

She is best known for her 2016 single "Ooouuu", which peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received quintuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

In 2016, Young M.A released her official debut single, "Ooouuu," which peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In September 2016, the song had nearly 7 million plays on Spotify and was widely remixed by other rappers and hip hop artists such as Remy Ma, French Montana, Nicki Minaj, Jadakiss, Uncle Murda, ASAP Ferg, Bryan Mathers and Tink, all of whom released their versions of the song.

Stereogum's Tom Breihan said "Ooouuu" was "a brash, intense, hard-as-fuck piece of rider music... the song feels like it marks the arrival of a major rap talent."

The Fader said Young M.A has "[established] herself as a quintessential New York MC", and MTV's Doreen St. Félix said, "This summer, the atmosphere belongs to Young M.A and her single 'OOOUUU.'" The song's popularity drew attention from labels, though M.A remains an independent artist.

At the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards, she performed a freestyle on a cypher and performed "Ooouuu", giving what XXL Magazine described as "show-stopping freestyle... one of the best freestyles of the night".

Despite the enthusiasm for her performance, Young M.A expressed disappointment, saying BET cut out a portion of her performance.

In 2016, during an interview with Rolling Stone, Young M.A said Lee Daniels offered her the role of "Betty Bars" on the show Empire.

The character and role were made especially for her, but she turned it down, preferring to pursue her career as a rapper on her terms and with her moniker instead of being known first as a fictional character.

Remy Ma featured M.A at Hot 97's Summer Jam 2017, where she performed alongside other female rap greats.

M.A was quoted as saying "There's been a lot of opportunities, and of course a lot of money, but then there's the downside: you lose a lot of people that were once around you once their true colors start to show".

Freestyles such as "Who Run It" and "I Get The Bag" have gained millions of online streams and views, along with her previous single, "Walk", which has amassed over 20 million listens.

M.A's single titled "Praktice" is supposedly a reference to the idea that her previous releases have all led up to the full album.

Her debut studio album, Herstory in the Making (2018) peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200 and was met with positive reception.

Following the song's success, Marrero was nominated for BET's Artist of the Year and MTV's Female Hip-Hop Artist of the Year awards.

She has been featured in advertising for Google Pixel 2, Beats By Dre and Pandora.

In 2018, she was featured on the annual Forbes 30 Under 30 and launched the non-profit KWEENZ Foundation with her mother.

Its accompanying music video also became a viral hit, receiving over 400 million views on YouTube by 2019.

Young M.A's debut studio album Herstory in the Making was released on September 27, 2019, and peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200.

It included the singles "Big" and "PettyWap 2".

On May 22, 2020, she released the EP Red Flu, marking her first new project since the release of her debut album.

On May 21, 2021, she released her second studio album Off the Yak.

Pitchfork rated the album 6.9 out of 10.