Lil Mama
For the tennis player, see Jessica Kirkland
| Lil Mama | |
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 Lil' Mama at the Black Girls Rock! Tour NYC 2011 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Naitia Jessica Kirkland |
| Born | October 4, 1989 |
| Origin | New York City, 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. She was a judge for seven seasons on America's Best Dance Crew, experienced billboard placement with the release of her first album, which spawned the song "Lip Gloss", and in April of 2013, she completed filming for the role as Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes in the upcoming Vh1 TLC biopic.
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Early life [edit]
Lil Mama was born in Harlem in 1989. She was raised in Brooklyn, New York where she attended Edward R. Murrow High School. Kirkland is the third child and eldest daughter of eight kids. Being the eldest daughter is how she got her nickname "lil mama".[1] 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. Her mother Tara died on December 15, 2007 following a four-year battle with colon cancer.
Career [edit]
Music [edit]
In 2006, Kirkland signed a recording contract with Jive Records. 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.
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.[2]
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.[3][4] "Voice Of The Young People: I Am That" will have guest appearances including Soulja Boy, Khalil, Vanessa Hudgens, LoLa Monroe, Teyana Taylor, Trina, OMG Girlz, Nas, Chris Brown among others.
VMA incident [edit]
At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Lil Mama came onstage while Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed "Empire State of Mind". While Jay-Z was ending his final verse, Lil Mama left her seat in the audience, (right before she got onstage, Beyonce even tried to hold her from going up) got 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, jokingly telling her, "you T-Paining right now," a reference to a similar incident two months earlier when T-Pain jumped onstage with Jay-Z at Summer Jam during his performance of "D.O.A.".) At the end of the performance, Lil Mama came to foreground and posed alongside Jay-Z and Keys. She later clarified that she "would never ... try to disrespect Jay-Z or take a moment that someone has created it and try to relive it. I’m too original for that and I respect him too much for that."[5]
Television [edit]
Lil Mama serves as a judge on the competitive dance contest television series America's Best Dance Crew. She joined the judges's circle in 2008 at the age of nineteen. She has also appeared in Cycle 13 of America's Next Top Model with Benny Ninja.
In 2013 it was announced by Lil Mama's mentor, MC Lyte that she will be starring as Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes in the upcoming Vh1 TLC biopic alongside Keke Palmer and Drew Sidora, they will be playing Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins.[6][7]
Discography [edit]
Studio albums [edit]
- 2008: VYP (Voice of the Young People)
- TBA: Voice of the Young People: I Am That
Singles [edit]
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions[8] | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
AUS | CAN | NZ | UK | |||
| 2007 | "Lip Gloss" | 10 | 36[9] | — | — | — | 121 [10] | 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)" (featuring T-Pain) | ||||||||
Featured appearances [edit]
- "Workout Plan (Kanye West )" Background dancer in video.
- "Girlfriend (Dr. Luke Remix)" on the 2007 Avril Lavigne album The Best Damn Thing
- "Amazed" on the 2008 Vanessa Hudgens album Identified
- "Block Party" featuring Clyde McKnight on the 2009 posthumous Lisa Lopes album Eye Legacy
- "Video Chat", "Big Boy Rims", and "Cupid" on the 2010 College Boyys album Spring Break
- "Sexiest" a 2010 song by Colombian artist Yahaira
Awards and nominations [edit]
- 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 [edit]
- ^ http://www.oprah.com/oprahradio/Rapper-Lil-Mama-Audio Dr.Oz Interviews Lil Mama
- ^ "Lil’ Mama Reveals New Album Title". Rap-Up.com. 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ^ "RCA's New Executive Team Named Under CEO Peter Edge Amid Layoffs (Update)". Billboard.biz. 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ^ "Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". FMQB. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ^ Bennett, Deborah (23 September 2009). "Jay-Z Compares Lil Mama To Kanye". HelloBeautiful.com. Radio One. Retrieved 29 Oct 2012.
- ^ "Lil Mama Cast As Left Eye In TLC Biopic", MTV, February 9, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
- ^ "TLC MOVIE (BAND, NOT CHANNEL) CASTS LIL MAMA, KEKE PALMER, AND A THIRD HUMAN", HollyWood.com, February 9, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
- ^ "Music News, Reviews, Articles, Information, News Online & Free Music". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ^ "Top Hip-Hop and R&B Songs & Singles Charts". Billboard.com. 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ^ http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/070901cluk.txt
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lil Mama |
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