“Fans of Lil Mama’s infectious “Lip Gloss” have been waiting nearly a year for the release of her debut album, wondering perhaps if the CD would emphasize this young MC’s desire to join the ranks of New York’s rap elite or to turn Miley Cyrus devotees into hip-hop heads. “VYP: Voice of the Young People” suggests that those two goals needn’t be mutually exclusive. Presiding over tracks produced by A-listers including Dr. Luke, T-Pain, Cool & Dre and Scott Storch, Lil Mama shows off some impressive verbal firepower here, like when she challenges her skeptics over a booming trash-can beat in “One Hit Wonder.” Yet she never goes long before reminding us of the value of a killer chorus, either; in “Broken Pieces” she even pulls off an unlikely emo-blues ballad.—Mikael Wood”
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