NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) —Renown recording artist Mia X, born Mia Young in New Orleans, Louisiana has ad the eloquent lyrical chops of a rapper since she debuted on Master P’s No Limit Records label in 1984. Chops refer to more than music. Mia X is also a talent in the kitchen, especially, when it comes to gumbo.

“I like to add vinegar to neutralize the slim. By adding the vinegar, we still keep all of the nutritional value of okra. No slime,” says Mia X.

Mia X learned quite a bit watching the matriarchs of her family.

“My Aunt Mary used to make the gumbo for Dooky Chase Restaurant. My grandmother, the thing she did with us, was get us in the kitchen and tell us to chop that onion, garlic, wash the chicken, but she would ask us at the same time, how we were doing in school. Our kitchen was like the therapist couch.”

There’s a history of musicians and entertainers who had remarkable cooking ability. Louis Armstrong was known for his red beans and rice recipe.

“Most of artists in the south grow up cooking. Aretha Franklin use to go into the hotels and cook in their kitchen,” testifies Mia X.

Over the years, Mia X has cooked for an array of artists that includes: Monica, Kelly Price, Trina, Betty Wright, Busta Rhymes, and all of the No Limit Record Label family.

“I’ve cooked for a lot of people. I put my first record out 30 years ago and I’ve been stirring pots for my colleagues for a long time. It makes me feel so good to hear them say, they like the food,” says Mia X.

More than the rich and famous enjoy Mia’s food. Every year, she celebrates her birthday in New Orleans by feeding the disadvantaged. It’s a lesson that was given to her by her grandmother.

Recently, Mia X launched her own line of seasoning, as well as a cookbook that gives account about her music career, her family, her food and life’s lessons.

“My grandmother put a pound of red beans on every day. That was for anybody in our neighborhood that was hungry. The food is what really brought us together. When the women in our family went through something, a lot of times they would wash and cut up chicken. You would know if something was going on because freezer would be full of chicken,” says Mia X.

To purchase your own copy of Mia X’s book: Things My Grandma Told Me, Things My Grandma Showed Me; or to purchase some of Mia’s seasoning, click here.