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LITTLE KIM, JUNIOR M.A.F.I.A., October 1995
What does Junior M.A.F.I.A. stand for?
"It was a name that Biggie came up with a long time ago and it stands for 'Junior Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes.' It's something that all of us felt worked, that really meant something real about the crew."
The Junior M.A.F.I.A. consists of four separate crews. How does it all work?
"Yes, there are four separate crews. They are called 666, or The Sixes, which is made up of Little Caesar and Nino Brown. There are The Snakes, which is Trife and Larceny; then there's a solo rapper called MC Klepto, and then there's me, Little Kim, a.k.a. Big Momma. I'm the only female in the crew, but that's the Junior M.A.F.I.A."
Are there plans ahead to release solo efforts from the various crews who make up Junior M.A.F.I.A.?
"Yeah. We have a deal with Big Beat for the Junior M.A.F.I.A. album, which is all of us together, the four crews; but they have us as solo artists as well so it's a good way of keeping everything together. Each crew has different tracks on the album so they get to show their skills. I have to start putting together tracks for my solo album."
With Biggie blowin' up, how much do you think it has helped Junior M.A.F.I.A. get through?
"Oh, sure of course, no doubt that is true. But Junior M.A.F.I.A. would have been something we pursued even if Biggie didn't blow up as big as he did, you know, 'cause we all have skills. Biggie definitely laid the foundation for Junior M.A.F.I.A., and there's much love for him from all of the Junior M.A.F.I.A.; he certainly made a lot of stuff happen for us a lot quicker than we could have ourselves. That's why we have huge respect for Biggie."
There's been a lot of talk in the media and on the street about trouble between Puffy and Junior M.A.F.I.A. because of Biggie's involvement in the crew. Do you want to talk about that?
"What I would say is that Puffy has been instrumental in helping Junior M.A.F.I.A. get to where we are now, and he continues to offer us help to make sure that everything goes well for us. A lot of the talk was just that, people talking about stuff they don't really understand. For Puffy, you know, Biggie is his artist so he has to, and does, take an active role in every aspect of Biggie's career, that is his responsibility. But we all have much love and respect for Puffy; he's helped a lot of young people find direction and focus."
Have you changed since you became actively involved in the business?
"I think, to an extent, yes, that's bound to happen, but not for the worse. You know, we've been doing Junior M.A.F.I.A. for almost a year. The "Player's Anthem" single was done almost a year back so it's not like we've only just started. We've already seen a lot. The Junior M.A.F.I.A. single and album was a highly anticipated project so there has been a lot of interest in the crew for the last 12 months, so every day there are new things to deal with and some routine stuff that we're already used to dealing with. But yes, definitely it's changed us, but also given us a lot to think about for the future."
I can count the number of female producers on just about one hand. Nikki Nicole, Monie, Heather B, Jazzy Joyce, Latifah. So you want to join the ranks, huh?
"Yeah. I want to be at the top. Not just at the top of female rappers but also producing. I think women have a lot to offer music and also the way they can deal with people in general, I think it's an excellent role for a woman."
-- Donna Snell (courtesy of Streetsound)
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