Lil Mama

At age seventeen Lil Mama launched onto radio with the prominent early-2007 single "Lip Gloss." Niatia Kirkland, raised between Brooklyn and Harlem as one of eight siblings, turned to poetry and dance choreography for personal refuge. Her father, owner of Familiar Faces Records, encouraged her to channel those interests into hip-hop, so she joined the label and traveled to Atlanta in 2006 for exclusive work with producer James "Groove" Chambers on the track. Determined promotion secured steady rotation on New York’s Hot 97, after which Jive Records signed her in January 2007 and quickly positioned the newcomer as an East Coast teen rap sensation. The song’s video then entered rotation on MTV and BET’s 106 & Park during spring and summer, extending her reach across the country. The Jive deal also brought in producers Scott Storch, Swizz Beatz, and DJ Green Lantern for her Familiar Faces/Jive debut album.