Hip hop rapper Niatia Jessica Kirkland, better known as Lil Mama, was born in 1989 to a financially-struggling family in Harlem. The Kirklands later moved to Brooklyn, New York and that's where Lil Mama grew up. With eight other siblings competing for their parents' attention, Lil Mama spent much of her free time polishing her talent by writing poems. When she was ten-years-old, she was no longer content with the quiet words so she started putting beats behind the lines and this marked the beginning of her journey towards becoming a reputable rapper.
By the age of 12, her father noticed her writings and made her record some of her first songs in their studio. At first, she took someone else's beat and wrote a rhyme to it. But by the time she was attending Edward R. Murrow High School, she was already creating original songs.
Lil Mama then continued on honing her skills in rhyming, dancing and singing. To better equip herself, she trained in Choreography, Freestyle Hip Hop and Modern Jazz. In 2003, Lil Mama's mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. She expressed her emotions through her music and after three years, she teamed up with former DMX manager Ali Samii and they recorded seven songs including the then unknown song “Lip Gloss.”
She asked friend DJ Enuff from Hot 97 to play her songs on the radio. The DJ was hesitant at first, saying that he is not allowed to play music from unknown artists, but upon hearing Lil Mama's songs, he was immediately persuaded. The next day, he played her songs and the rest is history.
In 2007, and only at the age of 17, she rose to fame when her song “Lip Gloss” hit the airwaves and was immediately well-received by listeners from all ages. The song was also nominated as Monster Single of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards but she lost to Rihanna's “Umbrella.” Upon hearing about the woman's talents, president Barry Weiss of Jive Records tracked her down and signed her in a contract right away.
Lil Mama can be seen as one of the judges on MTV's reality-TV series
Randy Jackson Presents:
America's Best Dance Crew .
(Photo courtesy of MTV)