So, apparently I’ve vastly misjudged Lil’ Mama…
Now, granted-the first song to trickle from the pre-pubescent wonder, the too-fucking-catchy “Lip Glossâ€, was, while a total confection, a bit…uh…lightweight.
To hold her to any sort of lyrical mic-rockin’ standard is a bit too “my daughter’s nine and entering into swim suit competitions†for my taste (she’s like 14), but it’s undeniable that the girl’s a triple-threat on the come-up: she can sing, she can rap, and she can dance (check the “Lip Gloss†vid for some jaw-dropping cuteness).
In the past few weeks, there’ve been a slow trickle of other Lil’ Mama drop-ins. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill pop-n-runs; in fact, it’s quite the contrary. The one like Mama has crafted a show-stealing flow that (and I’ll get crucified from the back-packing set for this)’s more than just a little reminiscent of Jean Grae.
When Lil’ Mama rushes in to pull the first single from Avril “Sk8r Boi Lyke 4 Shur†Lavigne’s The Best Damn Thing out of annoyance territory, she actually manages to up the punk factor. Granted, it wouldn’t be tough given the source material, but Mama puts a one-two slap down on the “like so whatever†girlfriend the song’s going out to. The only downside to the remix: the half-rap Avril attempts in the original remains here, and, next to Lil’ Mama’s ownership of the rest, is…really…laughable. Laugh out loud-able, in fact.
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Then there’s her turn on Jigga’s mistress, Rihanna (the girl in the car to Beyonce’s girl he goes home to at night)’s new single, the low-end destruction of “Umbrellaâ€. This song in its’ original version gets that same mouth-agape response as most of Rihanna’s songs do the first time they’re heard (“Pon De Replayâ€, “SOSâ€, I can keep going here…), but Lil’ Mama, of course, drops in and steals the whole damn show.
This may actually top the original:
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I have my own thoughts on the rest of that Rihanna record (no one tell batshit-crazy B where her new record went, k?), but that’s for another time.
For right now, it seems I owe Lil’ Mama a big apology. Like Prince and Sheena Easton, my face is red-I stand corrected.
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