Rapper/dancer Lil Mama first broke onto the hip hop scene with the undeniably catchy hit “Lip gloss”, but these days she’s most well known as the judge with a big heart on America's best Dance Crew. She’s not done with rapping though, her new song "Scrawberry" is blowing up the charts, and there’s more to come! Find out more in her Kidzworld Q&A!
KW: What’s the best part of being a judge on America’s Best Dance Crew?
- Lil Mama: The best part of being on America’s Best Dance is being able to inspire: to inspire young people, to be able to inspire my peers. I love being on the show.
KW: You just released a new single, "Scrawberry", what’s it about and how did you come up with it?
- Lil Mama: Well I was just having fun, I wanted to do a song to an old-school beat, and used the beat from "I Got it Made", I just wanted it to be like MC Lyte's style, and you know we had a bunch of fun doing it, and then it ended up being recorded. It’s about a pink car.
KW: You collaborated with Snoop Dogg on your song "NY NY LA LA", what was that like?
- Lil Mama: He’s the best, he’s just always Snoop. He’s always cool, he’s always gangsta. It was really fun, I looked up to him for a long time when I was young, and just starting to write, and I still look up to him. It’s surreal to get to get to work with him now.
KW: Who are some artists you would like to work with in future?
- Lil Mama: I would love to do a collaboration with Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliot, and with so many young and fresh new artists, but it’s got to be the right time, the right moment. I love all music, I love instruments, so any new artists and artists I love, just whoever is an inspiration.
KW: What first made you want to be a performer?
- Lil Mama: My mom was a singer, she used to sing all the time, my grandfather is also a singer, he stills sings actually. Singing runs in my family. My dad was a DJ and a rapper. I was writing poetry all my life and I guess I just started making it into rap, putting it to music.
KW: What is some of the best advice you have ever received?
- Lil Mama: One of the biggest things my parents told me, my grandparents told my father this, and my parents told me that whatever you want to do in life, be the best at it.
KW: You started in the music business as a teenager, how do you think you’ve grown since your first album?
- Lil Mama: At the beginning I was very excited, and I think that a lot of the time when you’re young you can get excited at the thrill of becoming famous and it’s easy to lose sight of why you’re doing something, so I think I have more control now over my excitement. I know when to be excited and when to celebrate, and when to work.
KW: What advice would you give someone starting out in the music business?
- Lil Mama: Have the right people handle your business, people you care and trust, parents, brothers, sisters siblings-someone who can handle the business part so you can focus your mind on the music and take on the world. I think that Michael Jackson was a huge talent, and wanted to share his talent with the world, but you have to have someone to protect you, and your feelings, and protect your money so you can focus on other things.
KW: How do you feel about interacting with fans online through mediums like Twitter and Facebook?
- Lil Mama: I love interacting with my fans on Twitter and Facebook. When Twitter first came out it was two years before I ever tweeted, but actually getting involved it’s cool letting people know you and what you’re about and interacting with the fans. It’s amazing.
KW: What are you working on right now?
- Lil Mama: I’m working on my music, and you guys will be the first to know what I’m doing, Scrawberry is a single from my mixtape that has really blown up and people are really into it, so I'm focused on that and there’s more to come.
Check out Lil Mama's new hit "Scrawberry" below!
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