Another pint sized female emcee was forced to address her feelings on Nicki Minaj this morning when, Lil Mama best known for hosting America's Best Dance Crew & infiltrating the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys MTV awards performance of "New York State of Mind", was questioned during an appearance on Power 105.1's morning show about comments she made recently regarding her influence on the rapper's style.
The Brooklyn born rapper started making waves virally with 'Lip Gloss' around winter of 2006, going on to sign a deal with Jive Records where the track was officially released as the first single of her album, Voice of the Young People. The platinum selling song peaked at number 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 and she was subsequently featured on Avril Lavigne's remix of 'Girlfriend', the first song to surpass 100 million views on youtube.
Speculation of a feud began innocently when Lil' Mama alluded to the fact that while Minaj "is a talented rapper" she misrepresented the body image and sexual atmosphere young women require when asked what she thought of the Nicki's presence in Hip Hop. Since then whispers from #teamnicki have floated throughout the internet regarding verses like Nicki's appearance on Yo Gotti's "5 Star Chick Remix" as a shot at the former East New York representative. Recently, Lil' Mama came under more blog fire after a red carpet interview at the MTV Movie awards with Vibe Magazine when she claimed that Nicki copied a blunt cut of hers after the two met backstage at a taping of ABDC. She also insinuated that she paved a path for the fellow New York rapper but stated that there was no beef between them.
Member's of The Breakfast Club, Charlamagne the God & DJ Envy, wasted no time in their "Intervention" with Lil' Mama, asking her amongst a variety antagonistic questions - to clarify her comments regarding the similarities between the two while berating about her beauty and age. She responded, "The last time we seen any female emcees before Nicki there was me... I think that a lot of times our community really focuses on celebrating one female emcee at a time and I think that’s where it comes in, that controversy…the who stole what style…at the end of the day, I’m talented and there’s only one Lil Mama."
Eventually Lil' Mama became very emotional revealing that her mother's passing during the recording of her first album was a big reason for her departure from music referencing troubles with her label and wanting to explore other aspects of her career. "I’m suppose to be supported as a young black woman and people suppose to get it together and fix yourself, everybody bashed me and tried to treat me like I was a criminal," she continued, "I would’ve crumbled then but I’m still going and I’m still standing."
Lil' Mama promised to return to music, insisting that she continues to release tracks to the Hip Hop community however at present time there is no plans for an official release.
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