Masia One's journey into hip-hop started with a marketplace in Singapore. Shopping with her mother one day, she found a Public Enemy tape in a store full of bootlegs. Enticed by the cover, she purchased it, along with Bananarama. She was in grade two. Soon Bananarama was ditched and more Public Enemy was sought after. Upon her family's move from Singapore to Vancouver, access to hip-hop music and culture was no longer a problem. Presently, she has an architecture degree from U of T, her father sends her articles about William Hung (of American Idol fame) for inspiration, and her mother still wants her to become a banker.

Do you plan to use your architecture degree? No, no. I would always get projects back with, “This is the most creative design for the building. Unfortunately your building will not stand up.” I'm horrible -- I fucking suck at math, but it would always be this beautiful design for the building... And I'm not a meticulous person. With architecture you have to be so detailed, with the scale, and if something's off then everything's screwed up, so yeah, I'm not too hot at that. [laughs]

Why do you feel that hip-hop is the best way to express yourself? I think, because I fell in love with it at a young age. And I started getting into hip-hop culture, and looking at graffiti, thinking, “Oh, that's so cool, I want to do that”, and I started doodling all over my sketch books. I think that I just like expressing myself in really bold ways, and with hip-hop, when you have graffiti, the lines are thick and bold, and the
colours are just at you. Or emcee-ing, you're always fighting, and saying “I'm the best!” So I think it's just a very natural way for me to express myself.

Are you tired of people asking you what it's like to be a female emcee? Oh, hell yeah! Or, “What is it like to be a female Asian emcee?” That's my favourite question.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? Are you a self-motivated person? [laughs] I used to be, I think. Umm, my computer? Cause I know I have emails that I have to go check. Hold on, let me think about this one. [long pause] Maybe this means I don't get out of bed in the morning! No, if I do, it's usually because I'm a robot, and I know that I have a lot of work to do, so I just have to get up, and I'm on my computer... Or if I smell food being cooked downstairs. That works, too.
Andrew (one of her roommates): That's not so often.
Masia: No, it's not.

Do you have a trait that surprises people once they get to know you? In terms of performance, no one expects me to have a bigger voice than I have... When I perform, everyone likes to call me a spoken word artist. Or they think I'm going to sing about my room, or something... It seems like the expectation is, if you're female and in hip-hop, and you're Asian, you're supposed to be demure to a certain extent. They expect you to just talk about conscious things... No one really expects me to yell “Y'all mother fuckers are Diz Knee Land,” over and over again. But on a personal level, I don't know what surprises people about me. That I eat a lot? I win eating contests... My record is thirteen plates at the Mandarin, and six bowls of ice cream... I still felt sick after, but maybe it was more about my pride than me being able to eat a lot.