While many children in North America were captivated by such imagery as the Cabbage Patch Kids and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a young Singaporean girl became enthralled with a comedic looking character on the cover of a cassette she stumbled upon. The cassette was none other than a Bootleg version of the historic It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back from Public Enemy, and the cartoon like character, Flavor Flav. A move from Singapore to Canada, with her high school years spent on Canada's west coast in Vancouver, allowed this artistic individual to familiarize herself with not only hip hop music, but also the culture that stood behind this still marginalized genre. The year 1996 marked an educational step forward, departing from Van City to Toronto to attend U of T in what was first an aim for a Law degree, but soon switched gears towards the more art oriented architecture program. Becoming a fan of the burgeoning Toronto hip hop scene, she attended many local showcases and events, as well as dabbling in a little b-girl breaker action. Favourite artists fell among the likes of Company Flow, Black Star and Lootpack, while also having a strong appreciation for jazz greats like Miles and Coltrane, as well as the dub influenced Jackie Mittoo. The year 2001 marked an artistic step forward, as a brand new artist was born to the stage at TheCyberKrib.com's "I Still Love H.E.R." all-female urban showcase, opening for Bay Area emcee Mystic. Masia One hit the stage with much curiosity in the crowd, and exited with applause and admiration. With her education now positioned toward her music, and a completed Honours BA in architecture from the University of Toronto in hand, Masia took on her next challenge in life: to be a recognized artist in not only the hip hop world, but in the overall spectrum of music. Late 2002 and early 2003 has been dedicated to completing her debut album which will be released Canada wide in August 2003 (Indiepool Canada.) The release will be a true 100% independent venture, with everything from design and art direction, to marketing, promotion and publicity executed through Masia's owned and operated M1 Group and her co-management team. The 12 track debut will feature a majority of production handled by Yoroku Saki, with other collaborations including little clever and Jesse Keeler of punk-influenced outfit Femme Fatale and Death From Above. Live shows will be executed in many cases with live instrumentation, from the acoustic simplicity of Yoroku Saki on guitar, to a full backing band including members of UltraMagnus, a Toronto based Afro beat (Afro steady) ensemble which will be emerging this summer to bless Torontonians with their mixture of world beat and funk. A unique aspect of this record is embraced in the album title Mississauga, where literally all of the contributors involved hail from the Toronto suburb of Mississauga. Masia comments: "This record is named after musicians I'm working with from Mississauga to express thanks for how much they have all inspired me, and the very unique sound coming out of the area." Even down to the finer details of the record, with project sound engineer APZ (Al Puodziukas of Girls Are Short) calling Mississauga home, a great impact has been projected on Masia through her cast members. The influence has been broken down to a single statement through which the collective encourages music lovers and consumers to return to becoming "lovers of life and purveyors of art" (as stated in Night Time Summer Time.) Mississauga spans styles and tempos tailored to exhibit the intricacies of Masia's lyrical versatility and diverse subject matter. With a final clocking of 40 min, the album can be digested pleasantly in one complete hearing. In addition to the underlying desire to share the DIY approach to releasing ones art form, Masia also strives to represent Asian Females in a more positive light in an industry quick to play into stereotypes. Down to even the project artwork, the company logo is a reflection of her Singaporean heritage. MASIAONE: snatching the crown from all weak emcees.