Amaiya Spain (born May 4, 2006), known professionally as Myaap, is an American rapper. Born and raised in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, she began rapping while in high school and her 2023 singles "HTS" and "Getting to It" both went viral on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

Career

Amaiya Spain was born on May 4, 2006 in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and has three siblings. Before rapping professionally, she would casually

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

with her older brother. She also took dance lessons in Milwaukee and worked at

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

, Gap, and

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

, with aspirations of working as a mortician or as a

backup dancer A backup dancer also known as background dancer is a performer who dances with or behind the lead performers in a live musical act or in a music video. Their movements (especially where there are many moving together) improve the visual aesthetic ...

. Myaap began rapping in 2023 while attending

Lynde & Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School The Lynde and Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School (also known as Bradley Tech) is a high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Located in the Walker's Point neighborhood, Bradley Tech is the primary high school for technology and t ...

, recording songs at Milwaukee's Hi-Five Studios. She posted her songs "HTS" and "Party Crackin'" on

, both of which went viral on the platform in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Her 2023 song "Getting to It", which was released in November with a music video and heavily samples the 1976

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

song "

Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the ...

", also became popular on TikTok due to a dance associated with the song. It was used in videos by

Meghan Trainor Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (born December 22, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached ...

Coco Jones Courtney Michaela Ann "Coco" Jones (born January 4, 1998) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Born in Columbia, South Carolina and raised in Lebanon, Tennessee, Jones began auditioning as a child to pursue a career in entertainment. Sh ...

, and

Reneé Rapp Reneé Mary Jane Rapp (born Reneé Jane Rapp; January 10, 2000) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She gained recognition for starring as Regina George in the Broadway musical ''Mean Girls'' (2019–2020). She reprised the role in t ...

before being removed from

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and streaming platforms due to its sample of "Dancing Queen" being uncleared by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

. Myaap's

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) ''Big Myaap, Not the Little One'' was released in January 2024. The following month, Myaap began performing as an opening act throughout

Veeze Karon Malcolm Vantrees (born February 28, 1995), known professionally as Veeze, is an American rapper and singer. He pursued a recording career in 2017 and released his debut single, "Itself", in 2019. His debut mixtape, ''Navy Wavy'', was rele ...

's Ganger Tour. Later in 2024, she released the collaborative

''Yop!'' with producer Nedarb on May 31 and the singles "Crunch Time" and "Wrist Buss" in August and September, respectively. By November 2024, she had released a total of four projects. , she is based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Musical style

Myaap's music is

lowend Lowend is a subgenre of Milwaukee hip hop, which is a regional subgenre of hip hop, that originated in Milwaukee in 2020s. Defined by uptempo, metronome-like clapping rhythms, heavy bass, and snares, lowend emerged in the early 2020s out of Milwa ...

, a style of

Milwaukee hip hop Milwaukee hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop that specific to the state of Wisconsin, and its largest urban center, Milwaukee in particular. The genre is said to have came to prevalence in the hip hop community in the early 1990s, with th ...

music defined by heavy

808 808 may refer to: Music * Roland-808, Roland TR-808, a drum machine * 808 (film), ''808'' (film), a documentary about the Roland TR-808 * 808 State, British electronic group * ''808s & Heartbreak'', the fourth studio album by American Hip hop arti ...

drums and handclaps, with Piet Levy of the ''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'' calling her a "chief ambassador" of the genre. She is also known for incorporating Milwaukee dance moves into her performances. She has stated that she makes songs intended for online virality and writes her songs on her phone. She has listed Milwaukee rappers such as Certified Trapper, Chicken P, and

Coo Coo Cal Calvin Bellamy (born July 4, 1970), better known as Coo Coo Cal, is an American rapper and truck driver from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His single " My Projects" went to #1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart in 2001. Coo Coo Cal’s debut album, ...

as her musical inspirations.

Discography

Mixtapes

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

References

{{reflist 2006 births Living people 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century American women rappers Rappers from Milwaukee