Maiya The Don – 2024 XXL Freshman

TRUTH ON BEING AN XXL FRESHMAN: “[Being a 2024 XXL Freshman is] a big deal because I just started rapping, like, two f**king days ago. Like, I’m the definition of a Freshman, you know what I’m sayin’? Not for nothing, people will be established and have major label backings, major budgets, and people who are fighting for them to get in this spot where, like, I just work, you know, the proof is in the pudding. I have all this stuff, like, by myself.

Me, I’m somebody who cannot be duplicated or replicated or imitated. I feel like I’m very fresh by nature. I rap very traditionally. I feel like I’m the exact opposite of what people want female rappers to be, where they just believe that it’s a man spoon-feeding them sh*t. Not ’round this bi**h. I’ve always been very rambunctious and the type of people, the opposite way, like, black sheep kind of person.

I’m gonna do what I want regardless of how anybody feels. And I think it reflects on my music. I think I make music for the self-made spoiled brats, [the] first-born daughters. I’m gonna go and get them on my own. I’ve been taking care of everybody else. It’s time to take care of me.

It’s important [for me to be an XXL Freshman] because I’m a bad bi**h and I rap. And it’s like if you didn’t include me, that would have been dumb because who, like, name a new bi**h that be rapping like this right now? Name her. Bet you can’t. Bet you won’t. It’s important for hip-hop. It’s important for women in hip-hop. It’s important for women who actually rap who put pen to pad and it’s important for girls that look like me, that sound like me, that talk like me, that was in my classes. It’s so important to have that representation.”

Watch Maiya The Don’s 2024 XXL Freshman Freestyle

Rising rhymer Maiya The Don is focused on the art of rhyming and making an impact with her bars. The 22-year-old Brooklyn native creates songs for the girls, the “self-made brats” and “first-born daughters,” who have looked out for everyone but themselves, and now it’s time they all put themselves first. Big Don’s confidence is clearly evident in her personality as well as her rhymes. She brings her bold energy to her 2024 XXL Freshman freestyle. With bars like, “B**ch, I’m really the biggest,” it goes without saying that she’s here to stay. Or in her words, “Get on the train or get hit by one.”

The 2024 XXL Freshman may be a rap newcomer, but her skills prove she’s got experience. “Look at the stats, if I’m a rookie, she’s an amateur,” Maiya rhymes. She’s unfazed by any stressors that come with the career path she’s chosen. A path that she’s always desired to have since watching BET’s 106 & Park back in the day with her brother, who has similar rap aspirations. She takes her craft seriously, noting that she doesn’t need help with her pen game. “Baby, I’m the dime, so the pressure never shook me,” Maiya spits. “I heard a reference track, so no, you h*es will never push me/B*ches got ni**as in writer’s rooms just to talk about they pu**y.”

Maiya The Don‘s price is rising and she’s putting tax on it with clever wordplay. “I’m out-rapping b**ches, that’s with or without the numbers,” Maiya raps. “You want my throwaways?/It’ll cost you like, seven figures/Ya right toe and ya liver/They think I came outta nowhere/Lil b**ch, I been nice/Smooth flow and delivery, I’m a midwife/B**ches’ body count and net worth/It’s me, myself and I/I don’t respect the rest.”

Whoever wasn’t familiar with Maiya The Don prior, she’s assured that her talent will gain her a spot on anyone’s favorite rappers list. “Money talks, so be careful who I speak to/I been planning to sit on M’s like Evisu/Name a new b**ch that be rapping like this/I bet this freestyle alone will have you scrappin’ ya list, b**ch,” she adds.

It’s evident Maiya takes a page from the long lineage of respected female rappers when listening to her bars. “I like to say I’m influenced by everybody,” Maiya tells XXL. “I think anybody out of New York, especially the women. I can’t be a young Black woman from New York and not name Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, like, everybody who came before me, obviously. And I like to say that I’m super-influenced stylistically by Rick Ross [and] Jay-Z in terms of how I like to rap.”

Following the success of her breakout single, “Telfy,” in 2022, Maiya has garnered over 7 million plays on Spotify and nearly 3 million views on YouTube for the track. She’s locked in several collaborations with Flo Milli including “Conceited” alongside Lola Brooke. She also has a song of her own with Flo, titled “Expensive,” and appeared on the Atlanta artist’s track “Anything Flows” with 2Rare and Kari Faux. Maiya’s other bangers include “Dusties,” “Luv U Better” and “In Your Hands” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, all of which appear on her debut mixtape, Hot Commodity, which arrived last year.

Last winter, Maiya showcased her talent in the all-women cypher, curated by Latto.

As the spotlight continues to shine on her, the New York native is standing in her own individuality. “Me, I’m somebody who cannot be duplicated or replicated or imitated,” she maintains. “I feel like I’m very fresh by nature. I rap very traditionally. I feel like I’m the exact opposite of what people want female rappers to be, where they just believe that it’s a man spoon-feeding them sh*t. Not ’round this b**ch. I’ve always been very rambunctious and the type of people, the opposite way, like, black sheep kind of person.”

Get familiar with Maiya The Don and the flames she’s throwing in her freestyle below.

Watch Maiya The Don’s 2024 XXL Freshman Freestyle

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