Amil Kahala Whitehead (born September 19, 1973) is an American former rapper and singer. She was prominent in the late 1990s as a

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

protégé, and recorded the single " Can I Get A..." with him for the ''

Rush Hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...

'' soundtrack. Amil's debut studio album, ''

All Money Is Legal ''All Money Is Legal'', also known as ''A.M.I.L.: (All Money Is Legal)'', is the debut studio album by American rapper Amil. It was released on August 29, 2000, through Roc-A-Fella, Columbia, and Sony Music. Jay-Z, Damon Dash, and Amil served ...

'' (2000), peaked at number 45 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart and spawned two successful singles – "

I Got That "I Got That" is a song by American rapper Amil, featuring collaborative vocals by American singer Beyoncé. It was released on July 5, 2000 as Amil's debut solo single, from her debut album, ''All Money Is Legal'' (2000). The song was produced ...

" (with vocals from

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

) and " 4 da Fam".

Career

In 1997, Amil was involved with an all-female group called "Major Coins". The group met

, who was looking for a woman to provide vocals on his third album, '' Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life''. The part for the female rapper was really for her friend, but when Jay-Z asked Amil to

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

and liked it, he decided to put her on the song instead. Amil, wanting to remain loyal to her friend, did not prefer to be put on the song, but Jay-Z allowed them both to do a version of the song. Soon after Major Coins broke up, Amil decided to follow a solo career with Jay-Z's label,

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

, joining the 1999 Hard Knock Life Tour. After the tour, she appeared on songs with

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

, Beyoncé,

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

, AZ,

DJ Kay Slay Keith Grayson (August 14, 1966 – April 17, 2022), professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, was an American disc jockey (DJ) from New York City. He is referred to by ''The New York Times'' as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He released fou ...

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

and

Funkmaster Flex Aston George Taylor Jr. (born August 5, 1968), professionally known as Funkmaster Flex, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer, and host on New York City's Hot 97 radio station. In 1992, he became host of the first hip hop radio show on Hot ...

. Throughout her career, she has appeared on many songs with Jay-Z, including "

Nigga What, Nigga Who "Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99)" (or "Jigga What, Jigga Who (Originator 99)" for the song's title was often changed to avoid airing the word "Nigga") is a single by rapper Jay-Z's third album '' Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life''. It was releas ...

" which also featured

Jaz-O Jonathan Burks (born October 4, 1964), better known by his stage name Jaz-O (formerly The Jaz), is an American rapper and record producer active in the late 1980s through the 1990s, best known for being the mentor of Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z. Burks ...

, the hit-single, " Can I Get A..." featuring

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its lead single "Holla Holla". Durin ...

, and other

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

s such as "

Hey Papi Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

", "

Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up) "Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)" is the lead single from rapper Jay-Z's fourth album '' Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter''. The song features production by Rockwilder, including guest vocals by Amil and Beanie Sigel. Formats and track listin ...

", "S Carter", "Heard It All", "You, Me, Him and Her", "That's Right", "Playa" and lastly, " 4 Da Fam" and "For My Thugs" which both featured

Memphis Bleek Malik Deshawn Cox (born June 23, 1978), known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper who was a protégé of fellow New York rapper Jay-Z. Cox started his own labels: Get Low Records in 1998, and #Warehouse Music Group, Warehouse M ...

and

Beanie Siegel Dwight Equan Grant (born March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first became known for his association with Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella Records, releasing his debut ...

. In 2000, Amil released her debut solo album, ''

A.M.I.L ''All Money Is Legal'', also known as ''A.M.I.L.: (All Money Is Legal)'', is the debut studio album by American rapper Amil (rapper), Amil. It was released on August 29, 2000, through Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc-A-Fella, Columbia Records, Columbia ...

– All Money Is Legal''.

''All Money Is Legal''

Her solo debut, ''A.M.I.L – All Money Is Legal'', was released on August 29, 2000. The album featured the single "

", a duet with

, and All-Star Roc-A-Fella single "4 Da Fam". The album also features Memphis Bleek, Jay-Z, Carl Thomas,

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

, and Beanie Sigel. Amil is a practicing Black Hebrew Israelite and her affiliation is evident on songs such as "Quarrels". Album sales were disappointing, and the singles did not sell well either. Following that album, her last Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam single, "

", a song from the soundtrack to the feature film '' Nutty Professor II: The Klumps'', was released. Due to the fact that she was featured in the video only briefly, it was expected that she had already been dropped by that time. In 2002, Amil had a small role in ''

State Property State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownershi ...

'' along with other Roc-a-Fella members such as

Damon Dash Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke. Early life Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local barbe ...

and Jay-Z.

Later career

In 2005, Amil temporarily re-formed "Major Coinz" and released songs on the

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

circuit including the single "Glamorous Life" which was featured on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's Mixtape Monday. In a 2006 interview, when asked whether female MCs are forced to meet standards that male MCs are not, she said: "Oh, yeah. Definitely. You have to be picture-perfect and you have to meet the standards of the perfect woman. That's unreal to me. Real women do not have plastic-looking bodies. The average woman is not a size 0. You can do what you have to do to keep yourself looking like that or you could just be you. Me, I choose to just be me." She went on to say that she holds no grudges against her former labelmates, though she has no communication with them. In 2008, Amil released mixtapes titled Az Iz and Amil Returns: The Lost Classics Edition, delivering lyrically with songs such as the emotional "Tears of a Teenage Mother" and the Caribbean vibed "Don't Worry". In August 2011, Amil spoke out through

Vibe Magazine ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production ...

and gave the following statement about Jay-Z: "I haven't spoken to Jay in years but I really wish I could talk to him because that would just really bring closure to me. But he knows I love him. People think there was bad blood between us, but there never was any bad blood. Things happen and I wasn't ready for where my career was going at that time. It was really overwhelming." Amil released a new song called "Stop" in July 2012. The song was intended to promote the rapper's unreleased mixtape, A Time to Kill. Amil released the song "Remember" in 2014. It was also intended to promote a mixtape titled ''Another Moment in Life'', which remains unreleased.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Album appearances

References

External links

VH1 Artist biography

Hip Hop Game – Interview with Amil
{{Authority control American women rappers 1973 births African-American women singer-songwriters African-American women rappers Living people Rappers from New York City Roc-A-Fella Records artists American hip hop singers East Coast hip hop musicians Hardcore hip hop artists Columbia Records artists 21st-century American rappers 21st-century women rappers American female hip hop singers 21st-century African-American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from New York (state)