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Bon Jovi, the Breeders and Sonny Rollins will never walk into a bar together
Published on 6/30/08
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On VYP: Voice of the Young People, 18-year-old femcee Lil Mama proves that she’s far from a ringtone rapper. Only part of the album—roughly 40 percent—is spent chasing the success of “Lip Gloss,” her materialistic, silly and ultimately clever girl-power anthem that last year turned the East New Yorker into a sort of Miley Cyrus for streetwise city kids. Eight tracks into VYP, a skit promises to make the album’s content “go deeper,” and it does just that: “Stand Up” confronts teenage pregnancy and absentee dads, while “L.I.F.E.” and “College” vividly detail the rapper’s turbulent family life. On a handful of tracks where she also sings, Lil Mama, whose real name is Niatia Kirkland, positions herself as a possible heir to Missy Elliott.
While Lil Mama’s clearly got the goods, VYP’s length (there are 18 tracks, including skits) works against it. Still, if Jive had had the foresight to retain James “Groove” Chambers, the underacknowledged producer behind “Lip Gloss,” Lil Mama might have had her Supa Dupa Fly. Instead, big-name producers Scott Storch and Cool and Dre deliver the album’s weakest tracks, diluting the otherwise strong effort.
VYP won’t be a smash, but Kirkland is clearly a major talent. Hopefully she’ll get another chance to prove her worth while she’s still got the spotlight.
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