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Teen rapper Lil Mama shines with "Lip Gloss"
06/22/2007 7:12 PM, Reuters
When Lil Mama was 13 years old, the
pint-sized rapper had a chance meeting with a New York radio DJ
and insisted he play one of her records on his show.
"She was pressing me to play her record. Picture that -- a
13-year-old putting pressure on me," recalls Enuff, an
influential veteran at R&B/hip-hop WQHT (Hot 97). He told her
she should return when she was a little older, and Mama, born
Niatia Kirkland, did just that.
Three years later at age 16, Mama asked her father, who
managed her and ran an indie label out of their Brooklyn, N.Y.,
neighborhood (she was also raised in Harlem), to take her to
meet Enuff again.
"We met up, and she played some joints for me," Enuff says.
"One of the tracks was called 'Lip Gloss.' The record was
poppy, but I knew it had crossover appeal. It was straight
fire, so I played it."
Fast forward to today, and the 5-foot-2-inch MC, now 17,
has not only landed herself a major record deal with Jive
Records, but she's also wrapping up her debut album, "Voice of
the Young People," which is set to arrive in September. (An
official date has not yet been confirmed.)
She signed with Jive in January, after "Lip Gloss" --
originally released on the Familiar Faces label, run by her
father -- picked up radio spins in the Northeast. The catchy
single has been steadily climbing the charts ever since, and is
currently No. 10 on The Billboard Hot 100.
Mama's unrelenting approach not only led her to get "Lip
Gloss" onto the airwaves, but also to record an unofficial
verse on an instrumental to Avril Lavigne's hit track
"Girlfriend." After sending the recording to Lavigne's offices,
which the rocker chick loved at first listen, Lavigne decided
to make it the official "Girlfriend" remix. The partnership
marked the first time Lavigne has collaborated with another
artist on a video.
Ask Mama what prompted her to drop rhymes over the track,
and she'll say matter-of-factly, "I just liked the song, so I
got up on it."
According to Jive Records president of black music Mark
Pitts, the young MC's brazenness is undoubtedly part of her
charm. "(Mama) has such a presence it just makes you believe in
her. She's an entertainer, and she has no fears, no shyness.
You can't be mad at that."
The rest of the album features production from Swizz Beatz,
Cool & Dre and Green Lantern, and covers topics ranging from
family life and teen pregnancies to "everything else that
people go through, no matter what age," Mama says, who will
embark on promotional tour this month.
So far the album doesn't feature any artist collaborations.
"I just want the world to get a chance to understand who I am
before anything," Mama says. "But the album is not wrapped up
as of yet, so if I work with anyone it'll be someone that
complements where I'm going with it."
The next single, "Put It Down (Make It Hot)," is a
"midtempo club banger" that Mama feels will further confirm her
rap skills. "I know hip-hop, and I know 'Lip Gloss' is a hot
song," Mama says, "but I also know 'Lip Gloss' is nothing like
the rest of my songs, the way I just take and spit about life.
You can't really judge an artist until their second single."
Reuters/Billboard
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