Young Miko’s Debut Album ‘att.’ in Her Own Words

The opening track of Young Miko’s debut album, att., is aptly titled “rookie of the year,” which is coincidentally the award Young Miko received at Billboard’s Women In Music event in March. However, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill, bragaddoccio rap opus intro.

Opening with a man’s voice – Miko’s father speaking to her when she was a child — “rookie” is reflective and poignant as much as it is defiantly assertive: “To live the dream you have to be awake,” she says in one breath, then adds: “I don’t understand how the hell this happened. You ask, how do I do it? Better than you.”

The flow between vulnerable and sexy to assertive and sheer party girl permeate an album that sounds and feels deeply personal, but doesn’t wallow in self-importance. It’s a fun set and it’s also an unapologetically queer set, of a woman talking to and about other women, veering from playfully flirtatious to heartbroken.

“I started recording the album two years ago, so I speak about many heartbreaks and many experiences I had for the first time,” Miko tells Billboard over the phone during a break from rehearsing her upcoming Coachella debut performance. “I condensed in 45 minutes everything that’s happened to me in the past two years and things that happened to me as a kid too. It was pretty challenging.”

The album was also very intentional from the very beginning of the creative process, which explains why att. sounds like a cohesive oeuvre rather than a pastiche of songs. “I always have an intention,” says Miko matter-of-factly.

Here, in her words, are five essential and intentional songs from her debut project. Watch the video for focus track “Princess Peach” here.