When most people from New Orleans think of Mia X, they likely see the female hip-hop trailblazer who shared the stage with legends like Master P and Foxy Brown.

But now, Mia X is opening a new chapter, inviting people to experience her and her creativity in a different way. Her memoir “Things My Grandma Told Me, Things My Grandma Showed Me,” is a heartfelt, real and often times gritty ode to her Mamaw, who had a huge hand in raising Mia. It’s also a two-fold book, combining the stories with Mia’s own recipes and twists on New Orleans staples.

“Whenever I’m in the kitchen, I’m always thinking about my mama and grandmother,” she said. “I’m always thinking about them, the ladies in my family who cooked. Who cooked through joy, who cooked through pain. So, when I’m going through something, I lean on them.”

She laughed though a story about what her grandmother called “chicken therapy”.

“My baby daddy was cheating, I was crying,” she said. “Chicken therapy came from, ‘Cut that bird, before you cut that bird.’ After chicken therapy you feel better. And Mamaw said one time they had so much chicken in the freezer, you could tell that everybody had went through something.”