What happens on the girls trip, stays on the girls trip! Unless you’re filming it for TV, of course.
In the new VH1 series Girls Cruise, Lil’ Kim (who is also executive producing the docuseries) is joined by her girls, Mýa, Chilli, Pretty Vee and B. Simone as they embark on a luxury vacation of a lifetime.
For Mýa, the show may seem to take a bit of a turn from what we’ve seen of her life outside of entertainment throughout the years. In 2008, she’d stepped out of the spotlight, keeping her private life extremely private. She also faced a number of challenges, including label changes, mismanagement and album leaks, until she finally made the decision to establish her own label, Planet 9, and release her music independently,
This decision wasn’t an easy one, but hard work paid off and she was nominated for a GRAMMY award in 2017 for her album, Smoove Jones.
Did you have reservations about traveling with a group of women you didn’t know?
I’ve never in my life done a girls trip outside of about 3 days, and it wasn’t a bunch of us — it was only 2 or 3 max. So this trip was stepping outside of my comfort zone by doing this for weeks at a time. I got a call from Kim and she said, “Look, Mya you’re a boss. I’m a boss and we’ve been working for a long time together, as well as on our own individual grind. I’m planning this trip, and it’s fabulous.” With Kim, it’s always over the top and fabulous. But I didn’t know about a cruise. I have a fear of water, and being in the deep sea. I have a major phobia. And I had reservations being in a group setting with people I didn’t know, and also I didn’t know because anything can happen on vacation — safety wise, adventure wise, or even party-pooper wise. In January 2019 I got the call, and I had already set my intentions for the year, and it was to step out of my comfort zone, and then I got that call. I had to fulfill my promise to myself. I made the decision to move forward and say yes because I haven’t really treated myself to a vacation in years. I’m glad that I did it.
Where did you embark on the girls cruise?
We start in Barbados and island hop to Tobago, as well as Trinidad, where we end up at Carnival. And then there’s everything in between — adventure, breakthroughs, to intentions being set, to bonding to having some fun. There’s conflict as well, which is natural when you have a group of people. Everyone is their own individual. It was a learning experience for all of us, especially for me, because I’ve never been on a cruise, and I’ve never been around a group of women like this.
You’ve traveled across the globe to everywhere from Singapore to Jamaica. What was your favorite destination on this trip?
When we were docking in Tobago, I thought it had the most beautiful, pristine waters I’d seen on the trip. We had some adventure in that water too. In Trinidad, it was more city-oriented because we were in Port of Spain, but it was the ultimate in terms of music and energy because the Carnival festivities were happening.
What were the different personalities on the trip?
Chilli and I are probably the most picky when it comes to eating, because of what we can and can’t eat. Sometimes I’m doing a [juicing] challenge where I can’t eat regular food. Sometimes that can get annoying if you have to hear about it as a spectator. It can be inspiring too, as long as you’re not pushing the agenda on anyone else. I was very careful about that. You have Char, the only guy, who was always late. And we’re all like, “you don’t have hair, or nails or makeup, you could just throw yourself together and look fly.” But he was always late, and I learned it was because he likes to sleep. All the ladies were better because we have our routine of getting ourselves together for camera because we have that experience. Kim is the most fabulous, from head to toe at all times. Even in the water — she was beat down to the Gods. Pretty Vee and B. Simone are hilarious 24/7. I don’t know of any dull moments that exist with them. They keep the party up and popping at all times. I was constantly laughing at the unexpected humor, but that’s who they are. I was so happy that they were both there. We all kind of vibed because we were very similar, but it was great to mix together.
Speaking of Jamaica, you were just in Kingston working on new music. Was this inspired by your island adventures?
The TKO album came out last year, so the fans are ready for some new music. I love the Caribbean culture and I’ve had my share of collaborations in the Caribbean. Ding Dong and I recently collaborated. He’s a Dancehall artist in Jamaica — in the top 3 right now. It’s a record called “Hands Free” out right now, on a project called Sex Ting Riddim, which features various artists. We shot the video in Kingston, and I also shot two other videos — one from the TKO album as well as a brand new upcoming music which comes out next week. There’s a song called “Whine” which is the single, and it’s a bit of world music mixed with Caribbean. It feels like home to me, so I’m bringing it back.
Have you ever thought about taking a girls cruise with your crew? After watching this new VH1 series, you just may want to!
Girls Cruise premieres Monday, July 15th — will you be tuning in?