Lil Mama

Niatia Jessica Kirkland (born October 4, 1989), better known by her stage name Lil Mama, is an American rapper.

Niatia Jessica Kirkland was born on October 4, 1989, in Brooklyn, New York City, and is the eldest daughter of eight children.

She was raised in Harlem from her kindergarten to her eighth-grade year.

She moved back to Brooklyn and attended Edward R. Murrow High School until her senior year where she continued her education through independent studies.

Kirkland is a third generation of West African, Trinidadian, and Jamaican descent and the third born child.

Being the oldest daughter, she got her nickname "Lil Mama".

She has two older brothers and three younger brothers, one of whom is also a dancer and underground rapper along with her younger sister and last brother.

She has one maternal aunt and several paternal uncles.

Kirkland faced personal and financial struggles at an early age and experienced even more poverty when her mother, Tara, was diagnosed with breast cancer, which often led Kirkland to struggle in school as she had to care for her siblings and see her mother back and forth in hospitals from procedures.

Both her parents had separated when she was a young child, but Kirkland always maintained a close relationship with her father, visiting him consistently.

Her family became homeless and their mother had moved her and her siblings into a shelter due to poverty at the time.

Kirkland told Power 105.1 she stayed in the shelters for seven years from her kindergarten year until the beginning of her eighth-grade year when they managed to get an apartment in the Bronx and gain more stability.

Kirkland contributed to helping her mother financially by taking up small jobs such as baking.

Growing up, Kirkland witnessed many hardships in her community including gang and drug violence, teen pregnancy, and domestic violence.

After her mother's fight with cancer became terminal, her mother moved in with Kirkland's aunt and Tara's older sister.

She stayed there so she could be cared for and help with the care of the younger children in her family.

As one of eight children, she began to express herself artistically by writing poetry and music.

She trained at dance schools for ballet, jazz dance, tap dance, South African dance, hip hop dance, and street dance; she was in many competitions and recitals making her a professional dancer.

She was influenced by MC Lyte, Lil' Kim, Lisa Lopes, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, and her parents.

Her mother was a singer and her father Allen Brunner was a musician and DJ.

Kirkland decided to explore her talents further when she took interest in the rap culture.

Kirkland became known as the "Voice of the Young People" for being a teen sensation and connecting with her younger fans as she continued to present herself as that and embrace it in her music videos and songs.

She became the "Queen of Hip-Pop" for mixing her rhymes with pop influences, which started after her collaboration with Avril Lavigne.

She first introduced herself as the "Birth of Hip-Pop" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards sporting a baby-styled look.

She later told MTV how she intended to spread and influence more artists to spread the genre of hip-pop.

She experienced top 10 Billboard placements at 17 with her debut album VYP (Voice of the Young People) (2008), which debuted at number 25 on the Billboard 200.

The album spawned her four major singles including her staple song and dance anthem "Lip Gloss", earning her two Teen Choice Awards and Monster Single of the Year nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Kirkland gained further attention in pop music after a collaboration with Avril Lavigne for the remix of her hit single "Girlfriend".

Kirkland took a hiatus from music after success of her hit single "Hustler Girl" to stay focused on serving as a judge for total of seven seasons on MTV's America's Best Dance Crew at the age of 18 from 2008 to 2012.

Working with producer and fellow judge Randy Jackson, she served alongside JC Chasez, Shane Sparks, Mario Lopez, and Layla Kayleigh.

After her 2009 re-release of her single "L.I.F.E.", Kirkland introduced her fans to a whole new side of the darker reality that young people face.

The song was followed by a music video that incorporated the themes of the song which included teen pregnancy, drug addiction, child abandonment, domestic violence, and more.

Since the release of her first album, Kirkland has been in and out of studios making new music.

She released the single "Doughboy" (featuring Mishon).

She was cast as Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes in the VH1 biographical film CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story, which aired in October 2013 and garnered 4.5 million views in the first night.

From the success of the film, Kirkland joined TLC on their tour for their last album.

She got the opportunity to perform a tribute to Lopes at the 2013 American Music Awards performing the Grammy Award nominated song "Waterfalls".

Kirkland continued to remain in the public eye, returning to music, making new tracks with fellow rapper MC Lyte on her single "Ball".

She appeared on multiple magazine covers and was back in television with Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta.

In 2019, she starred in the film All In, alongside Traci Braxton.