While many children in North America were captivated by such imagery as the Cabbage Patch Kids and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a young Singaporean girl became enthralled with a comedic looking character on the cover of a cassette she stumbled upon. The cassette was none other than a Bootleg version of the historic It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back from Public Enemy, and the cartoon like character, Flavor Flav.

A move from Singapore to Canada, with her high school years spent on Canada's west coast in Vancouver, allowed this artistic individual to familiarize herself with not only hip hop music, but also the culture that stood behind this still marginalized genre. In 1996 Masia moved to Toronto, where 5 years later she completed a Honours BA in architecture from the University of Toronto, while simultaneously performing in her first hip hop concert, TheCyberKrib.com's "I Still Love H.E.R.", opening for Bay Area emcee Mystic. Masia One hit the stage with much curiosity among the crowd, and exited with applause and immediate admiration.

Toronto opened the door for a love of a diverse cross-section of music. Her favourites include: Digable Planets, Black Star and Lootpack; indie rock acts such as the little clever and Death From Above 1979; Afrobeat influenced Ultra Magnus and Antibalas; jazz greats Miles Davis and Coltrane; and the dub influenced Jackie Mittoo. The inspiration of this broad music range has been noticeable throughout her budding music career.

Late 2002 to mid 2003, Masia worked on and completed her debut album, Mississauga, which was released as a completely 100% independent venture in the fall of 2003. Everything from design and art direction, to marketing, promotion and publicity was executed through Masia's owned and operated M1 Group and her co-management at TheCyberKrib.com,

Mississauga has since garnered a significant amount of press and recognition, both locally and internationally, from a diverse array of media outlets. Within a 14 month time span, the M1 Group released three videos to support Masia One's debut album for tracks "Halfway Through The City", "The Hazing" (feat. Death From Above 1979) and the 2005 MMVA (Music Music Video Awards) nominated "Split Second Time." This is the first time in Canadian history that a female has been nominated for category of best rap video. Key media appearances have included ZED TV, CBC TV & Radio, Much Music, Much VIBE, TV Ontario, Sun TV, and The Toronto Star. Masia has been awarded the Pioneer Youth Award from the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) by breaking new ground for Chinese Canadians in mainstream media. In 2004, she wrote and performed a commercial for CBC program NERVE, which later aired both on TV and as a preview at Famous Players Theatres nationwide.

The 11 track debut Mississauga featured a majority of production handled by Yoroku Saki, with other collaborations including little clever and Jesse Keeler of punk-influenced outfit Death From Above 1979 (VICE Records). Live shows range from two turntables and a mic with the assistance of DJ Loqenz, a 4-piece core band, to the live instrumentation of the full backing 10-piece band, Ultra Magnus. The title of the record was based around the fact that literally all of the contributors involved hail from the Toronto suburb of Mississauga. Masia comments: "This record is named after musicians I'm working with from Mississauga to express thanks for how much they have all inspired me, and the very unique sound coming out of the area."

With a debut release reaching far and beyond her expectations, Masia aims to continue pushing the boundaries of hip hop as she embarks on recording 2 sophomore releases by Summer 2007. The first project, Montreal in the Fall, will be available April 2007 with a sound more centered in Hip hop and underground culture. This main album is named PULAU, a Malaysian term meaning "The Islands". Pulau will be a myriad of sound evoking Masia's travels throughout the islands, from the dub vibes of Jamaican Ghetto-based sound systems to lyrics that delve into Masia's roots in South East Asia. With a solid team of producers and collaborators, Masia One is set to once again push the boundaries of Hip hop and will continue to set a new standard for independent artists in the music industry.