(Between now and Friday I’m counting down the list of my 20 favorite albums of 2008. Obviously I didn’t hear every album that came out–although I did hear quite a lot of them–and obviously personal taste factors into this quite a bit, so I can tell you now that if you’re looking for gospel or metal recommendations this isn’t the list for you. But let’s not squabble, let’s just appreciate all the nice music that folks are making. I’ll be posting about two albums a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, from now until Friday. Although yes, now I’m behind. Damn it anyway.)

9.
Lil Mama
VYP: Voice of the Young People
Jive Records

If there was any kind of sense in the world, Lil Mama’s debut would have been one of the best albums of 2007. After all, Lipgloss, her universally-loved hip-hop track about fruity cosmetic products, was that summer’s most delightful single. I even once saw a whole group of people spontaneously start dancing to it when I was in line at the Nordstrom e-Bar.

But, for some reason, her label waited ten months to put out the album. TEN MONTHS. That’s like a million years in pop terms. In the meantime, she became a judge on America’s Best Dance Crew, lost her mother to cancer and, by the time her album dropped, didn’t seem so Lil anymore.

What could have been a novelty album was surprisingly eclectic. Mama raps about a crackhead mother and an abusive boyfriend just a couple of tracks before she sings a love song about how she’s a mermaid. There’s a girl group-inspired song and one with an interpolation of The Wheels On The Bus. She sings about teen pregnancy, a dad in jail, and about how she’s too good to be a one-hit wonder. And, of course, about her lipgloss.

Unfortunately, the album wasn’t released or promoted properly, something Lil Mama herself is quite aware of. G-Slide was the second single, which made her seem even more like a novelty, and by the time Shawty Get Loose was released, it was only a brief hit, despite the presence of dreamy Chris Brown and an unusually human-sounding T-Pain. It got to #10 on the singles chart but didn’t really hit in airplay, which is too bad because that song is awesome.

Hopefully Lil Mama will be able to overcome further stupidity on the part of her label and will get a chance to put out a second album before it’s too late.

Watch! Lil Mama, Lipgloss
Lil Mama, G Slide
Lil Mama, Shawty Get Loose
Lil Mama, LIFE
Lil Mama, What It Is (Strike A Pose)

Tags: albums of the year, lil mama

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