Lil Mama has been fairly invisible to the Hip-Hop community since the fiasco with Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and a poorly timed leap on stage. But, since then, the “Lip Gloss Queen” has kept it moving in TV and music. Right now, she’s working with some Hip-Hop heavies to make sure her return is successful. But, Lil Mama also reveals some of the reasons she’s seen her trajectory to the top bow a bit and how she plans to change that.
Here is the quick convo.AllHipHop.com: Hey whats going?
Lil Mama: Hey, how are you?
AllHipHop.com: I’m good, how you been?
Lil Mama: I’ve been good.
AllHipHop.com: Good,good,good. I know you’re very busy these days. So what have you been up to since the *”Lip Gloss”* movement?
Lil Mama: A lot. I’ve been doing my thing on “Americas Best Dance Crew,”which has been so much fun, and a great experience.
AllHipHop.com: No doubt, that was a very good look,you’re representing the female Hip-Hop movement in a big way,we’ll get to that later, we want to know whats up
with the music, when are we going to get that next single?
Lil Mama: Well. I’m currently working on music for my new mix-tape, but,because i take my craft very seriously ,and am very dedicated
to my career,I wanted to take my time with this project
and write about the things that I have been going through. There have been so many changes that have taken place,and also
alot of growth,so I’m making sure that all of this is going to be reflected
in my new material.
AllHipHop.com: Absolutely,cant wait till it drops,do you have a date for that yet?
Lil Mama:I haven’t set a date yet,but you should be hearing from me within a
month or two.
AllHipHop.com: OK cool, so will you be dropping any singles or will it all be
collectively at one time?
Lil Mama: Oh yeah, I definitely have some singles that i will be hitting
y’all with,again, i just want to release the right music at the right time
ya know?
AllHipHop.com: I can dig it. Well,I’m not sure if you know this, but there is a lot of anticipation
for your music, so naturally I have been hearing things, and word is that you
have some pretty heavy hitters on this project,care to go into detail about
that at all?
Lil Mama: Well I don’t want to give too much away, but I am working with
Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, so if that’s any indication of whats about to
drop, then there you have it.
AllHipHop.com: Nice. So how would you describe the feel of your mixtape, compared to your
last album,is it something different or on the same level?
Lil Mama: well the character of this project is definitely not the same feel as from before,ya know different things have come my way,I’ve grown and experienced different things,this project is a voice that will speak for
itself.
AllHipHop.com: Very well spoken.
Lil Mama: Thank you.
AllHipHop.com: So, it seems that you are staying very busy these days, are you
venturing out of music and working on any or projects?
Lil Mama: Oh absolutely, I’m taking things day by day and will be looking
into exploring more television and film opportunities all the while
continuing to remain a real woman of Hip-Hop.
AllHipHop.com:
And that you are, but speaking on Hip-Hop and the entire movement ofthe female MC, there seems to be a huge difference compared to what it was
just a few years prior. I know for me, I remember a time when it was Lil Kim, Foxxy,Eve, Da
Brat, but that doesn’t seem to be the situation now, what do you
attribute to the more than significant change in the female hip hop
movement?
Lil Mama: Well,at the time that I dropped the “Lip Gloss” record, I was the
only female mc on the scene,and its been like one at a time ever since. But I know,just from my own experience that being a female in a
male dominated industry, means that you are going to have to work that much
harder than your male counterparts,and I mean there are other things that
contribute to the situation as well.
AllHipHop.com: Like what?
Lil Mama: For instance, when “Lip Gloss” dropped, there were a number of great
artists and producers that reached out to me like “Mama get on this
record”,but because I was dealing with my own personal issues, the death of my mom and a few other things, not realizing that everyone goes through
these things,it makes staying in the game even harder,because your mind is
in so many places at one time, trying to figure it all out and make it work. That’s my story, but i know that there are many more who can
relate.
AllHipHop.com: I see, so how do you propose we go about finding a solution to this
issue?
Lil Mama: I think its something that will have to be addressed by
fans, musicians,and the industry alike, however as artists,we can facilitate
change by supporting each other instead of using each other to come up.