Lil Mama - VYP: Voice of the Young People
What do you get when you combine a roughly refined N.Y.C sound, fair lyrics, saturated tracks, and more lyrical hype than Busta’s right hand man? You get “VYP: Voice of the Young People,” the debut album from Jive Record’s fresh faced Lil’ Mama. Just when you thought it was safe to cancel your ‘Right On,’ subscription, and roll those magazine sized posters up, Jive Records has weaned its newest artist off a diet of Artist Production and Promos, and finally given her the green light on this debut disk. The album leads into a quite confusing track which mixes heart beats, high pitched voices, and faint crying; all over which she tries to set the tone of the album by preaching, that “VYP” is “Sharing that voice, that real voice, that life experience.” Before the album gets a little too heavy and uninteresting, it quickly leads into last season’s annoyingly catchy guilty pleasure, “Lip Gloss.” On the follow up “One Hit Wonder,” produced by The Runners and featuring NYC mix tape legend, DJ Khaled she tries to solidify her female M.C. status by declaring, “One hit wonder…One hit please…I’m going straight to the top,” while the first verse is something you can definitely fast-forward through, the second verse is fire worthy, yet the flow, production, and drum heavy track still aren’t enough to keep “Of Age” listeners interested. On the single ready “Shawty Get Loose,” she scores a little crooning from the barely legal Chris Brown, and a whole lot of synthesizing from everybody’s favorite “Nappy Boy,” T-Pain; and just when you thought this album couldn’t get anymore ‘P.S. 13’ friendly, she interjects the dance command track “G-Slide.” With a hook sung to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round,” it’s hard to tell who should be more embarrassed, the listener or the 18 year old artist. As the album progresses, she (thankfully) takes a break from sidewalk-hopscotch banter, and attempts to “keep it real” with “L.I.F.E,” and “College.” While her flow definitely falters, her lyrics surely come from a surreal place, painting vivid pictures of a life less glamorous and a little bit more surreal; addressing issues such as pregnancy and an absent mother figure. On the ladder featuring Yirayah, she metaphorically describes a trip to visit her father in prison, “My father placed in a seat facing me, no women in his class just men waiting to see their families…” On the sing-song “Broken Pieces,” she takes a quick and very unsuccessful jab at teenage heartbreak, doing so with over simplified lyrics, “In the mirror I’m looking at a shadow…Broken pieces that represent my heart.” While the ‘50’s sock-hop inspired’ “Truly in Love,” featuring Peter Toh almost breathes excitement back into the set, it’s not enough to save the album nor give hope for the remaining tracks. Lastly, the album seems to peek with the remix of Canada’s own lil’ mama, Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend;” yet sadly it’s too late. It appears that with her self proclaimed take on reality and boastful vernacular, Lil’ Mama is definitely trying to fill big girl shoes, and while many have such high hopes for the concrete princess, she continues to diminish them with her Disney ready sound. Alas even with production from heavy hitters Scott Storch and Swizz Beatz, this album presents itself as more of a demo than an actual LP. In contrast, she does get points for her willingness to address current teenage angst’s in an age appropriate, “Ill let my daughter listen to that” manner; however, if this 18 year old is set to be the new voice of the young people, then it’s better that our youth remain seen and unheard!