Regardless of the hate and ridicule that’s been hurled at Lil Mama throughout the years, she has continued to remind the world that she has more lyrical talent than a large portion of her industry peers. She proved herself to still be a relevant hip hop artist when she released the well-received single “Sausage” earlier this year. With the Dec. 18 release of her new mixtape, Take Me Back, she’s proving again that if she wants it bad enough, she could be a top contender in rap.
The mixtape — her first large body of work since her debut album, VYP (Voice of the Young People) in 2008 — consists of seven songs that follow the classic vibe of “Sausage” by sampling old school hip-hop song like Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice,” Run DMC’s “Sucker MC’s,” and Slick Rick’s “Mona Lisa.”
Though the main focus of the project is obviously her skillful lyrics, she makes use of the elephant in the room, which would be her public appearances that have resulted in receiving heavy slander online. For instance, on the first song, “#Memes,” she includes a snippet from her infamous interview with “The Breakfast Club,” in which she breaks down in tears while talking about her mother’s death. This year, several social media users created memes of Lil Mama crying on the radio show, which, to many, was seen as heartlessly poking fun at the rapper’s pain.
Take Me Back is definitely worth a listen, both for those who already recognize Lil Mama’s artistry and the skeptics who know of her more from her public appearances than her work. No matter how you feel about her, she’ll tell you herself: “My music will speak for itself.”
Listen to Take Me Back below.
