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The debut album by Lil Mama, VYP: Voice Of The Young People, was beset by delays and the general malaise surrounding the record industry and the general lack of pop-cultural space for female MCs (not to mention a really bad title), and so it, to put it politely, underperformed. Which was too bad, because it wound up being a pretty decent hip-pop record with more than a few potential singles. The pint-sized MC’s second album is apparently coming out sometime soon, and the first single to leak, “I’m A Diva,” isn’t her attempt to wrestle with Beyoncé’s Bangladesh-provided beat, but rather a Bloodshy and Avant-produced piece of credit bubblegum that waxes rhapsodic about Lil Mama’s ability to roll around in designer labels and has maybe half a rap verse, during which her rapidfire flow is slowed way, way down. The beat sounds kind of familiar, too!
Here’s the Lil Mama track:
And maybe it’s just me, but when I heard it, I couldn’t stop singing Britney Spears‘ “Radar”—which, it should be known, is also produced by B&A:
So what’s the deal here? Is Lil Mama’s label Jive—which, it should be noted, is also Britney’s label—waving the white flag as far as trying to break a lady hip-hopper? Or did Lil Mama herself say “fuck it, I’m just going to go for the brass ring, even though it might be coated in Vaseline at this point in the music business’ struggles”?
Lil Mama – I’m A Diva [YouTube]
Britney Spears – Radar [YouTube]
the idea of less rap on her new record makes me sad cuz lil mama can be a beast on the mike.
if she’s going to be doing this, she should stick to being the Paula in ABDC….VYP though poorly titled, was a solid hip pop record.
@silkyjumbo: i know! her “a milli” freestyle was the best of all of them.
you would think she would know better than to try to sell albums off singles- she has had two top tens, neither of whom helped vyp sell at all.
Oh, this just makes me sad. Straight up.
“Please. 8 bars and stop?” Come on!
This would be more surprising if half of her male contemporaries weren’t already singing more than rapping over house/pop production.
@Al Shipley: It’s the blatant “Radar” biting that’s surprising more than anything else. (Her letting her flow go to waste is just sad.)