Lil Mama

The teenage rap phenomenon’s first commercial hit “Lip Gloss” has become a celebratory anthem for girls of all ages. Her Jive Records debut, Voice of The Young People explores the mindset of a young woman who is truly wise beyond her years. Growing up between Brooklyn’s rough East New York section and Harlem, Lil’ Mama was forced to overcome both personal and financial struggles at an early age. As one of eight brothers and sisters, the rapper born Niatia Kirkland started to express herself artistically as a little girl through poetry and dance. When she was just 10-years-old, Lil’ Mama decided to try and put a rhythm behind her poems.

“Between the ages of 10 and 12. I started finding myself with rap,” remembers Mama. “That’s when I was writing and my father got me into the studio and I recorded some of my first songs. They were more like freestyles. I would take someone else’s beat and write a rhyme to it using my own hook.”

By the time Lil’ Mama started attending Brooklyn’s Edward R.Murrow high school she was creating all original material. “I started recording my own songs over original beats, coming up with ideas and letting my imagination really come through my music,” she says. “My father really helped me develop as an artist. He basically built me around knowing how to express myself. There’s different lanes I take you through with my music. People might think, ‘Am I normal for thinking that way?’ I’m just letting you know I think that way too.”

While Lil’ Mama’s musical career was starting to fall into place, her personal life took a turn for the worse.