Lil Mama
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:
Top
Lil Mama
- Genres: Rap
Biography
Jumping onto the airwaves at 17, Lil Mama cleared a wide path for herself with the major radio hit "Lip Gloss" in early 2007. Raised in both Brooklyn and Harlem, Niatia Kirkland grew up with seven other siblings. She found solace in writing poetry as well as dance choreography. But with the encouragement of her father, who owns the record label Familiar Faces, she knew that being a hip-hop artist could enhance both of those interests. Joining her father's label, she traveled to Atlanta in 2006 to work exclusively with producer James "Groove" Chambers, who helped construct the "Lip Gloss" single. After some ambitious maneuvering to get her music heard, New York's flagship hip-hop/R&B station Hot 97 began playing the record constantly. When Jive Records caught wind of the "lip gloss-poppin'" single, the company quickly scooped her up in January 2007 and made Lil Mama a teen rap sensation all over the East Coast. Moving into spring and summer of that year, her reach began to expand nationally as her impressively choreographed video for the song went into rotation on MTV and BET's 106 & Park. The Jive connection allowed the high-school lyricist to bring in heavy-hitting producers like Scott Storch, Swizz Beatz, and DJ Green Lantern for her Familiar Faces/Jive debut album. ~ Cyril Cordor, RoviWikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Lil Mama
 |
This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (May 2012) |
| Lil Mama | |
|---|---|
 Lil Mama performing at the Ed Hardy Fashion Show in March 2008. |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Naitia Jessica Kirkland |
| Born | October 4, 1989 |
| Origin | New York, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop, R&B |
| Occupations | Rapper, singer-songwriter |
| Labels | Jive, RCA |
Niatia Jessica Kirkland (born October 4, 1989) professionally known as Lil Mama, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter.
|
Contents
|
Early life
Lil Mama was born in Harlem in 1989. She was raised in Brooklyn, New York where she attended Edward R. Murrow High School. In 2006, Kirkland signed a recording contract with Jive Records. Her mother Tara died on December 15, 2007 following a four-year battle with colon cancer.Her father also died before she was born. Kirkland faced personal and financial struggles at an early age. As one of eight brothers and sisters, she started to express herself artistically through poetry and dance.
2006-2008
Her first studio album VYP (Voice of the Young People) was released in late April 2008. The album spawned four singles: "Lip Gloss", "G-Slide (Tour Bus)", "Shawty Get Loose" and "What It Is (Strike a Pose)" The album sold 19,000 copies in the first week, debuting at number 25 on the Billboard 200.
2009-2011
VMA incident
On September 13, 2009, at the MTV Video Music Awards, Lil Mama came onstage during Jay-Z and Alicia Keys's performance of "Empire State of Mind". And while Jay-Z was ending his final verse, Lil Mama came from her seat in the crowd onto the stage and started bobbing her head to the beat. Jay-Z was surprised but continued to perform. Jay-Z patted Lil Mama on the leg to fall back and threw in a quick joke, saying, "You T-Paining right now," a reference to a similar incident at Summer Jam two months earlier when T-Pain jumped onstage with Jay-Z at Summer Jam during his performance of "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)". At the end of the performance, Lil Mama came to the front and posed alongside Jay-Z and Keys.
Present
Since the release of her first album, Lil Mama has been in the studio working on new music. She released the singles "Dough Boy" featuring Mishon, "On & On & On", and "NYNYLALA" featuring Snoop Dogg, all of which failed to chart. She has since released two singles entitled "Scrawberry" and "Hustler Girl" featuring Clyde McKnight. In 2009 she announced the title of her proposed new album as 'Voice Of The Young People: I Am That', although this has not been released.[1]
On October 7, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding J Records along with Arista Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown, Lil Mama (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release her future material on the RCA Records brand.[2][3]
Television
She is currently a judge on the dance contest show America's Best Dance Crew. She joined the judging in 2008 at the age of nineteen. She has also appeared in Cycle 13 of America's Next Top Model with Benny Ninja.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions[4] | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
AUS | CAN | NZ | UK | |||
| 2007 | "Lip Gloss" | 10 | 36[5] | — | — | — | — | VYP (Voice of the Young People) |
| "G-Slide (Tour Bus)" | 124 | — | — | — | 8 | — | ||
| 2008 | "Shawty Get Loose" (featuring Chris Brown & T-Pain) | 10 | 43 | 41 | 38 | 3 | 57 | |
| "What It Is (Strike a Pose)" | ||||||||
Other appearances
- "Girlfriend (Dr. Luke Remix)" by Avril Lavigne off the Limited Edition of her 2007 album, "The Best Damn Thing", as well as some editions of Lil Mama's debut.
- "Amazed" by Vanessa Hudgens off her 2008 album, "Identified".
- "Block Party" by Lisa Lopes off of her 2009 posthumous album, "Eye Legacy".
- "Video Chat", "Big Boy Rims" and "Cupid" by College Boyys off of their 2010 debut album, "Spring Break".
- "Sexiest" a song by Colombian singer "Yahaira" and featured by her.
Awards and nominations
- BET Awards
- 2009, Best female Hip-Hop Artist (Nominated)
- 2008, Best female Hip-Hop Artist (Nominated)
- MTV Video Music Awards
- 2007, Monster Single of the Year: "Lip Gloss" (Nominated)
- Teen Choice Awards
- 2008, Choice Rap/Hip-Hop Track: "Shawty Get Loose" (Winner)
- 2008, Choice TV Personality: Randy Jackson's America's Best Dance Crew (Nominated)
- 2007, Choice Rap Artist (Nominated)
- 2007, Choice Summer Song: "Lip Gloss" (Winner)
- 2007, Choice Music Hookup: "Shawty Get Loose" (Nominated)
- MTV Asia Awards
- 2008, Best Hook-up: "Girlfriend" - featured by Avril Lavigne (Nominated)
References
- ^ "Lil’ Mama Reveals New Album Title". Rap-Up.com. 2009-07-20. http://www.rap-up.com/2009/07/20/lil-mama-reveals-new-album-title/. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ^ "RCA's New Executive Team Named Under CEO Peter Edge Amid Layoffs (Update)". Billboard.biz. 2011-08-23. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/rca-s-new-executive-team-named-under-ceo-1005324782.story. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ^ "Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". FMQB. http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=2268707. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ^ "Music News, Reviews, Articles, Information, News Online & Free Music". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ^ "Top Hip-Hop and R&B Songs & Singles Charts". Billboard.com. 2007-06-30. http://www.billboard.com/charts/r-b-hip-hop-songs?chartDate=2007-06-30#/charts/r-b-hip-hop-songs?chartDate=2007-07-07&order=drop. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lil Mama |
- Lil Mama at MTV
- Lil Mama at the Internet Movie Database
|
||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
Read more
Mentioned in
Crack, Pt. 4
(2008 Music Film)
Season 02: America's Best Dance Crew (TV Episode)
(2008 TV Episode)
Lil Mama
(Rap Artist, 2000s)
V.I.C.
(Rap Artist, 2000s)
VYP: Voice of the Young People [Bonus Track]
(2008 Album by Lil Mama)
» More