Jazz Monthly: Yeah, and I think sometimes we take for granted the flow of music.
Maysa: Mm-hmm.
Jazz Monthly: As we get into it, but when you sit back and just listen to the flow of the music and the lyrics, it’s an amazing thing.
Maysa: Mm-hmm.
Jazz Monthly: And that’s really something that really makes us move when we think about it.
Maysa: Yeah.
Jazz Monthly: Because we have the flow and rhythm, because I really think that the majority of things that happen on this earth is based upon rhythm.
Maysa: Oh yeah, I believe that too. Time and rhythm.
Jazz Monthly: Yeah, you know? And when I get into “My Destiny,” the song has such a flow of rhythm with a voice that the two start to intertwine to where you can’t help but just get into that flow. It’s almost like it pulls you in and you become part of the flow of the music.
Maysa: Mm-hmm.
Jazz Monthly: And that’s a beautiful thing because music is designed to actually make you a part of it when we think about it.
Maysa: Yeah.
Jazz Monthly: And when that is accomplished sort of automatically without effort, it’s a cool thing.
Maysa: Oh yeah.
Jazz Monthly: It’s almost hard to describe.
Maysa: Yeah, and when I wrote the lyrics for that, I was in this space of mind where it’s like I just know something great is gonna happen from this record, but after you work for 17 years and you’re on this kinda like the same level, I mean, I’ve been building up and building up, and I haven’t been afforded the kind of successful marketing and publicity that other singers have had that made them go on to have bigger careers, so I often wonder if it’s because I don’t have the right management or because I don’t have the right, you know, everything in place, or at one time I was all focused on my weight and all that kind of stuff and all those things came and when I turned 40 years old, that stuff stopped being important to me, and what I decided and what I know and when I would talk to ministers and when I talked with people, counselors or people who really are in tune with what the reality of the world is, is that I can make my destiny and whatever I focused on.
I know this is so true because it happened so many times in my life—what I focus on the most is what I’m gonna get and it’s because we’re all—the universe is such a beautiful, wonderful place. God has put this universe here with everything. There’s so much of an abundance of everything on this earth that you can attract whatever you want to you so what is negative or positive by your frame of mind and by how you talk and your speech and your frame of mind, basically. So “My Destiny” means to me, that song is just—it’s like people are tired, people are scared, people are frustrated, and I’m just trying to encourage people like the book The Secret, and to me I was going through, before The Secret came out, it’s called The Law of Attraction, so all those things are incorporated to—they’re all here. I think that’s what Jesus teaching, to be honest. It’s like everything is here. You just have to know how to access it. And that way, I think it’s about being positive and working hard and have a good work ethic and being true to yourself, you know?
Jazz Monthly: Yeah, I agree.
Maysa: That’s what I’ve been. All these years I’ve been true to myself from Day One. I never tried to starve myself so I could get into a size one outfit so they think it’ll sell some records. I never compromised my morals, I never slept with anybody in the business to try to get something happening, I never did drugs with anybody to try to get somebody to like me. I mean, all these things, I know that’s the right way to go and that’s what I want to teach these kids that are coming up now, that you don’t have to compromise anything. You just have to think, you have to talk and speak and walk the walk. Whatever you want to do, it will come to you. You just have to really focus on it.
Jazz Monthly: Right, and do the right thing, like you said, yeah.
Maysa: Yup, and do the right thing.
Jazz Monthly: Absolutely. Well, I can tell you, anyone listening this record will feel that vibe and the realism of it.
Maysa: Mm-hmm.
Jazz Monthly: And I really think that you’ve really scored with this one because it has all of those elements, it really does.
Maysa: Yeah.
Jazz Monthly: And I wanna talk about Track No. 1.
Maysa: Mm-hmm.
Jazz Monthly: When most people see the title “I Need A Man.”
Maysa: Uh-huh.
Jazz Monthly: They’re could gravitate to many thoughts. But let’s talk about that song and what it really means.
Maysa: What it really means is that I believe that we need to return to the core value of the family. I think a lot of the reason why the world has gone haywire, why people are going haywire, why people are going crazy and not thinking straight is basically due to a low self-esteem. I think people who don’t love themselves—I used to hate when people said “Oh, Maysa, you don’t love yourself enough.” I was like “No, I love myself a lot. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But when you have a high self-esteem, you don’t wanna to hurt anybody.
Jazz Monthly: Right.
Maysa: You wanna help people, you wanna love people when you have a high self-esteem—and that truly to me comes from being brought up with a strong family unit. And I know some people didn’t grow up like that and still turned out great. There are people who did it because at some point we do make a choice on what your character’s gonna be. You do make choices at some point.
Jazz Monthly: Right.
Maysa: But I grew up with my mother and father in the household and my father was a strong man who worked hard and he showed me how to work hard. He had a strong work ethic. He was good to us, he loved us, and he took care of us. And my mom was his partner. She was like his ace, you know, and she took care of the household and when he got sick she went to work, and these things, they just had a team, they had a system going, and it made me and my brothers realize that’s why we’re all still close to this day because we all watched my father and mother and how they interacted.
Jazz Monthly:s Yes, that’s so true.
Maysa: And I think we all—none of us were on drugs and all that kind of stuff. That’s like we all kind of got it together because I think we grew up like that. And I’m not saying that people who grow up in single family homes don’t have those values, but what I’m saying is that I think we need to return to that more, to kind of not just talk about yeah, no, he’s sorry, he ain’t paying his child support, he ain’t no good. I mean, I think we need to encourage men that this is the right thing to do. It’s not so cool to watch men walk away from their kids, it’s not so cool to not worry about whether you’re responsible for your children, but I don’t wanna brow beat men with that. I want them to learn, I want them to know, I want them to feel, I want them to think it’s a great thing to do your best for your kids as much as you can even though you may have to deal with a mother who’s not stable. I mean, you still do what you can for your kids and all that kind of stuff. And relationships are hard, so my song basically is saying—I’m telling people what I want.
