Even the most accomplished artist has the one that got away. For Fabolous, it’s Nas and Eminem. For Young M.A, it’s none other than the Jigga Man himself, as evidenced by a recent conversation at Sirius XM. “I still want to work with Jay-Z bro,” says M.A., wasting little time in issuing her response. “I just feel like it’s right for Brooklyn. Jay-Z inspired my everything. Not even just music, but as a businessman and how he’s elevated himself business-wise. Music-wise, I know he still got it.”

When asked whether she met Hov yet, M.A. confirms that she has indeed made the connection. “I met him at Beyonce’s show when I did the opening,” she explains. “I was opening up for Beyonce. That was my first time performing on stage. I didn’t get to meet Beyonce, but I met Jay-Z! I take that too.” “I was headed to another show, and Jay-Z was right there,” smiles M.A. “I’m not going to lie I was a little starstruck. This is Hov, this is big Unc right here! But the crazy thing is he was smiling at me too!”

“He was looking at me like he was his niece,” she continues. “He was happy, but we didn’t get to chop it up cause it was a quick little boom-boom-boom. But the fact of the matter that he was able to acknowledge and smile and grin, I respected that. It’s being humble. We know who this man is. What he’s capable of. He didn’t have to do that.” Once again, M.A. reiterates that Jay-Z is her dream-collaborator over anybody. “If I had to pick,” she says. “That would be my first choice.”