Young M. a 'Ooouuu' Explained: Meaning, Lyrics, Production, and Lasting Cultural Impact
By James H. Sterling
By September 2016, the momentum moved beyond rap radio. During a birthday montage posted to Instagram, global pop star Beyoncé danced to the track while celebrating backstage. Weeks later, Marrero was hand-picked by Beyoncé's team to open the final stop of the massive Formation World Tour at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Marrero walked out onto a stage set for over 80,000 spectators, rapping the single with the exact composure she displayed back on the streets of Brooklyn.
Predictably, major record labels arrived with checkbooks open. Executives from Universal, Sony, and Warner offered seven-figure recording agreements. In 2016, walking away from that kind of upfront cash was almost unheard of for an unsigned rapper with a debut hit. Marrero turned them all down.
Rather than signing away her master recordings, she retained total ownership of her intellectual property through her imprint, M.A Music. When she released her debut project, the Herstory EP, in April 2017, the streaming revenue flowed directly back to her own bank accounts. She maintained that independence across subsequent projects, including her full-length LP Herstory in the Making (2019), demonstrating a model of economic self-reliance that younger indie artists have mirrored since.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
