While rapper's who sport the prefix Lil' might be a dozen, there is nothing common about 17-year-old Lil' Mama. The teenaged rap phenomenon's first commercial hit "Lip Gloss" is fastly becoming a celebratory anthem for girls of all ages. But unlike kiddie rappers who rely heavily on short-sited gimmicks, Lil' Mama is a multi-faceted artist who boasts the ability to sing, rap and write her own material. 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. In 2003 she learned her mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. As she had always done in the past, Mama came to terms with her emotions through her music. In 2006, Mama teamed up with Ali Samii (former DMX's manager) of Xtra Mile Production and headed out to Atlanta where she got the chance to record with Nappy Roots' producer James "Groove" Chambers.

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Together they recorded seven songs, including "Lip Gloss," which would quickly find its way onto New York's home for hip-hop and R&B, Hot 97.

"I was going to a Hot 97 free concert and I went to meet up with DJ Enuff to get tickets and I told him I wanted him to play some of my joints on the radio," says Lil' Mama. "He gave me this long speech about how he can't really play music from unknown artist's so I was like, 'You have to hear my record!' So we got in the car and I put it on and he's like, 'Oh this beat is crazy!' He played it on the air the next day."

DJ Enuff wasn't the only industry heavyweight to take notice of Lil' Mama's wide ranging appeal. Dave Lighty, the Senior A&R at Jive Records was also floored by the 17-year-old's instant smash and immediately set out to track her down. "One story I heard was my manager's friend is friends with somebody who is friends with Dave Lighty," explains Mama. "I guess that's how he found me."

On January 10, 2007 Barry Weiss (President of Jive) officially signed the 5'2" rapper to Jive Records. Now with her major label deal to her credit, Lil' Mama has been in and out of various recording studios in New York, Atlanta and Miami and has worked with famed producers like Swizz Beatz and Scott Storch. Her debut album, Voice of The Young People features a wide range of musical and topical issues. Somber songs like "Life" explore a foster child's journey and the hardships of a pregnant teenager.

"Everybody's talking about the same things on the radio-murder, sex and drugs," says Mama. "They have people behind them telling them it's cool and I disagree. There are so many more people struggling and going through

So, just how did Britney get into such trouble? As 'In Touch' has previously revealed, she was spotted with prescription pills, including Xanax, in her purse during a night out LA in november. But her drug use actually dates back years before then. For the first time, people who know Britney are speaking on the record about her drug use from as far back as 2003.
" When i was around her, she took Ecstasy ", Amanda Alexander, the sister of Britney's first husband, Jason, tells 'In Touch'. Amanda, 21, says she also witnessed the singer using cocaine in theyr hometown of Kentwood, LA.
Another hometown friend, Kent Smith, who's known Britney for "at least 10 years", says he partied with her three years ago at Club 360 in New Orleans. " She does like to party ", Kent tells 'In Touch'. " I've been there when she's done Ecstasy and cocaine."
Toward the end of her marriage to Kevin, she returned to drugs. According to a pal, the couple got into a huge fight on the night of his CD release party last Halloween. " Kevin was mad because he knew she was high on coke."
SHE'S HURTING
"The divorce really threw her into a deep depresion," says a friend. "She felt like a failure and wanted to show everyone how desirable she still is." Unfortunately, the partying overtook the parenting. "So many people love Britney," an insider says. "They're all in crisis mode." Her mom has resorted to tough love, even taking away her credit cards while her dad, Jamie, a recovering alcoholic, is also "trying to get her on track," says a pal. But no one can get through to her. The day after she shaved her head, Britney stumbled into LA's Mondrian Hotel in a blue wig. She tried to book a room, but couldn't caz she didn't have a credit card. "She kept crying, 'Nobody wants me anymore,' " says an onlooker. Later, says a hotel staffer, "she went to the pool and tried to shave her legs. The staff was stunned."
The next night, Britney went to friend Jenna Caine's 25th birthday party at the Roxy. "She dissapeared into the bathroom," says an insider. One partygoer was overheard saying what a lot of people have been hoping: "She just needs to get help."