Niatia Jessica Kirkland (October 4, 1989), and her stage name Lil Mama, is a Grammy Award-nominated American female rapper currently signed to Jive Records. Lil Mama was born in Harlem and later moved to Brooklyn, New York where she had attended Edward R. Murrow High School. mama__2_.jhtml" target="_blank">http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1558321/20070427/lil_mama__2_.jhtml Lil Mama Hopes To Make It Big With Some Help From 'Lip Gloss'] MTV.com Apr 27, 2007 . Lil Mama has been featured on remixes to various singles including "_Girlfriend" (Avril Lavigne), "Umbrella" (Rihanna alongside Chris Brown),"Gimme More" (Britney Spears),"Beautiful Girls" (Sean Kingston), and "Just Fine" (Mary J. Blige), . She was also featured in the video for Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls". Not to be confused with Teyana Taylor aka "Lil Mama" who was featured in the 2005 documentary film Rize.

Lil Mama was nominated for Monster Single of the Year for her song "Lip Gloss" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, but the award was given to Rihanna, for "Umbrella". She currently appears as one of the Judges on the MTV reality dance competition America's Best Dance Crew.

Tara Kirkland, Lil' Mama's mother, died on December 15, 2007 after a four-year battle with cancer Retrieved on December 21, 2007 . The music video of "Shawty Get Loose" featuring Chris Brown and T-Pain, was dedicated to her.