PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — Miraya Shah could barely see over her microphone while spitting rhymes in the recording booth of a Pawtucket studio, but the Westboro 10-year-old had a dream.
“One day, I was just singing in the shower and thinking of video games and I just put something together,” she said.
The “Roblox” video game may have been her inspiration for the lyrics of her very first song, “Video Games,” but what made it all happen was a life-altering diagnosis.
Two and a half years ago, Miraya was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, according to her mom, Ronak Shah.
“If you had to put it in one word, it was literally like an earthquake in my life,” Ronak said. “Everything just shook.”
Miraya is now in remission, and she knew exactly what she wanted to do when she finished her treatment.
“She just said one line: ‘I want to make a video. I’m going to be dancing in the video, I’m going to be rapping in the video, I’m going to be doing my moves. That’s all I need to do. That’s it. You just need to trust me,'” Ronak recalled.
“And I said, ‘but you don’t know how to do that,’ and she said, ‘I don’t need to know how to do that. When the camera is on me, I’ll just do it,'” Ronak continued.
Miraya’s wish was granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Massachusetts and Rhode Island chapter, which contacted Beatbox Studio and the Haus PVD production team to make it all happen.
“It was such an incredible wish to see this wonderful team take what was in Miraya’s head and on the page and bring it to life,” Make-A-Wish regional director Michael Vieira said.
Since it went live, Miraya’s music video for “Video Games” has been viewed more than 5,200 times.
“It was really cool, how many views there was,” Miraya said. “Sometimes I look at it and I’m just really happy and surprised with how many I got.”
Her next hit is a song that, at face value, sounds like it’s all about money.
“One penny, two penny, three penny, four. You stack up all your pennies and you stack a little more,” Miraya raps.
“Once you get $50, make your things more expensive, then you get $100 and your horses jump the fences,” she continues.
Courtesy: Make-A-Wish RI and Mass. 
Courtesy: Make-A-Wish RI and Mass. 
Courtesy: Make-A-Wish RI and Mass. 
Courtesy: Make-A-Wish RI and Mass. 
Courtesy: Make-A-Wish RI and Mass. 
Courtesy: Make-A-Wish RI and Mass. 
Courtesy: Make-A-Wish RI and Mass. 
Courtesy: Make-A-Wish RI and Mass. 
Courtesy: Make-A-Wish RI and Mass. 
Courtesy: Make-A-Wish RI and Mass.
But the lyrics, according to Beatbox Studio owner Chachi Carvalho, are much deeper than that. He believes it’s reflective of how mature Miraya is for her age.
“I don’t know if she realizes how brilliant her writing is on this song,” Carvalho said. “It’s insane. It’s about selflessness and being aware. The more you have, the more you spend, the more you lose.”
Miraya has a bright future ahead of her, and Carvalho, along with everyone else who has helped her along the way, is looking forward to seeing her succeed.
