Table of Biography
Lil Mama is a renowned rapper, singer, and actress from the United States. Lil Mama gained fame with her debut single “Lip Gloss” in 2007, which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. She is also known for appearing on the reality TV show “America’s Best Dance Crew” as a judge.
Early Life
Born as Niatia Jessica Kirkland, better known by her stage name Lil Mama was born in New York City, the United States, on October 4, 1989. According to the astrological chart, she has a birth sign of Libra and is 34 years old as of 2023. She holds US nationality and belongs to a mixed ethnicity of African-American descent.
She was born to her parents Allen Brunner and Tara Kirkland. By profession, her mother was a talented singer and her father Allen Brunner was a musician and DJ. In addition, she was the third child of eight siblings, two elder brothers, and five younger siblings.
Caption: Lil Mama with her father (Source: Facebook)
She was reared in Harlem from kindergarten to eighth grade. As a child, she spent her childhood days in poverty and she lost her mother on December 15, 2007, due to breast cancer.
Lil Mama – Education
She studied ballet, jazz dance, tap dance, South African dance, hip-hop dance, and street dance at dance schools, and she competed and performed in numerous recitals and contests, making her a professional dancer.
Moreover, she returned to Brooklyn and finished her senior year at Edward R. Murrow High School, where she completed her education through independent study. She chose to pursue her abilities further after becoming interested in the rap culture, and she has since continued to hone her rhyming skills and become an active free stylist.
Professional Career
In late 2006, Lil Mama signed a contract with Jive Records. She released her first studio album “VYP (Voice of the Young People)” under the Jive Records Label. Her debut album reached at number 25 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and has sold over 66,000 copies in the United States only.
Rolling Stone and US Weekly gave her three stars, and AllMusic gave her three and a half stars. The studio album debuted at number five on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums list and number three on the US Top Rap Albums chart. Meanwhile, she appeared in Avril Lavigne’s video song named “Girlfriend.”
Served as Judge and present career
After this, she took a break from music after the success of her hit single “Hustler Girl” to stay focused on serving as a judge for a total of seven seasons on MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew” at the age of 19 from 2008 to 2012, which made her one of the youngest judges on any competitive television series in history.
In the show, she worked with producer and fellow judge Randy Jackson, she served alongside JC Chasez, Shane Sparks, Mario Lopez, and Layla Kayleigh. She made her breakthrough as Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in the VH1 biographical film “CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story,” which premiered in October 2013 and had 4.5 million views on its first night.
Caption: Lil Mama joined the stage at the 2009 MTV VMAs with Alicia Keys and JAY-Z (Source: The US Sun)
Moreover, she later joined TLC on their last record tour as a result of the film’s popularity. She was allowed to pay respect to Lopes at the 2013 American Music Awards, where she sang the Grammy Award-nominated song “Waterfalls.”
She stayed in the public glare by returning to music, collaborating with fellow rapper MC Lyte on her hit “Ball.” Additionally, she made Billboard history once more with her song “Sausage” at the BET Awards. She graced several magazine covers and returned to television with Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta. In 2019, she co-starred in the film “All In” with Traci Braxton.
Awards
She has won two Teen Choice Awards; one in the Choice Summer Song category for her work ‘Lip Gloss’ in 2007 and another in the Choice Rap/Hip-Hop Track category for her work ‘Shawty Get Loose’ in 2008. Meanwhile, the singer has been also nominated for BET Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and MTV Asia Awards.
Net Worth 2024
Through her musical career, she has managed to earn a huge sum of money in her career. Her net worth is estimated at around $6 million and she mainly earned through her record sales, contracts, concerts, and acting works.
Relationship Status
At the moment, Lil Mama seems to be single and not dating anyone. Previously, she dated the well-known rapper Soulja Boy (2007-2008) and Big Sean (2015-2016). Meanwhile, the singer seems to be fully focused on her career rather than having any kind of relationship.
Controversies
She has faced several controversies throughout her career. One notable incident occurred during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when she infamously interrupted a performance by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.
Moreover, she walked on stage uninvited during their performance of “Empire State of Mind” and was subsequently criticized for her actions. The incident became widely discussed in the media, and Lil Mama later expressed regret for her impulsive behavior. Apart from this incident, she has also faced criticism for various social media posts, comments, and interviews.
Body Measurement
Caption: Lil Mama posing for a photo (Source: CelebMafia)
This American singer stands 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 48 kg. In addition, the celeb has dark brown hair with a light green pair of eyes.
Lil Mama – Social Media
On her Instagram page ‘@lilmama’ there are over 926k followers. Likewise, there are over 1.6 million followers on her Facebook page and she is not present on Twitter at the moment. She also ran a self-titled YouTube channel and has over 270k subscribers as of writing this content.