LaVita Raynor, known simply as Vita, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, songwriter and actress. Raynor is perhaps best known for her role as Kionna, Tommy "Buns" Bundy's (portrayed by DMX) " side chick" in the 1998 crime drama film ''

Belly Belly may refer to: Anatomy * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach ** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking ** Belly dance * The fleshy, cen ...

''. As a rapper, Raynor is known for her appearances on the songs " Lapdance" by

N.E.R.D N.E.R.D. (stylized as N⋆E⋆R⋆D and N.E.R.D, a backronym of No-one Ever Really Dies) is an American hip hop and rock band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1999. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Recor ...

, " Put It on Me" by

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". Dur ...

, and "

Down 4 U "Down 4 U" is the lead single from Murder Inc. Records' compilation album '' Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.'', released through Def Jam Recordings and Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records. The song features rapped verses from Ja Rule, Charli Baltimore, ...

" by

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (born June 26, 1970), professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American DJ, music producer, record executive, and the CEO and co-founder of Murder Inc. Records. He is best known for producing multiple number-one rec ...

. In 2014, Raynor was included in '' Billboard''s list of the ''"31 Female Rappers Who Changed Hip-Hop"''.

Biography

Career

Raynor had a minor role in the 1998 crime drama film ''Belly'' as 16-year-old girl Kionna (who is one of Tommy "Buns" Bundy's girlfriends). In the same year, Raynor also appeared in the video of the song "Break Ups 2 Make Ups" by

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of ...

and D'Angelo, playing the former's girlfriend. By 2000, Raynor was signed to

Murder Inc Murder, Inc. (Murder, Incorporated) was an organized crime group, active from 1929 to 1941, that acted as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicatea closely connected criminal organization that included the Italian-American Mafia, the ...

. In 2001, Raynor appeared on the hook of “The Learning (Burn),” the first single released from the Mobb Deep album

Infamy Infamy, in common usage, is the notoriety gained from a negative incident or reputation (as opposed to fame). The word stems from the Latin ''infamia'', antonym of ''fama'' (in the sense of "good reputation"). Roman law In Roman law, it took ...

. Raynor contributed vocals and appeared in the official music video for the remix to Ja Rule's "

Holla Holla "Holla Holla" is the debut single by American rapper Ja Rule from his debut studio album '' Venni Vetti Vecci''. It was produced by Taiwan "Tai" Green and Irv Gotti. The music video was directed by Hype Williams and Irv Gotti.cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in the video for Ja Rule's "6 Feet Underground". In 2002, Raynor contributed to the

-produced hit single ''

'' with

, Ashanti, and

Charli Baltimore Tiffany Lane (born August 16, 1974), better known as Charli Baltimore, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Her stage name is taken from Geena Davis's character in the film '' The Long Kiss Goodnight''. Career Charli Bal ...

from the Murder Inc. compilation album '' Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.''. The song was another hit for Vita, peaking within the top ten on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

. Vita also appeared on the compilation album on the song ''Here We Come''. In 2002, Vita parted ways with Irv Gotti and Murder Inc. Consequently, Vita's debut album on Murder Inc., ''La Dolce Vita'', which was originally scheduled to be released in Fall 2002, was ultimately shelved. With the first single "Justify My Love" not gaining attention. Madonna shut her down from making her re-make original, as she recorded a version with her rapping, but Madonna did not clear the version with the rap. Her debut album was later released on

DatPiff DatPiff is an online audio distribution platform that was launched in 2005. It is headquartered in Pennsylvania. It specializes in hip-hop, rap, and urban music. The site was founded in the spring of 2005 by Marcus Frasier. It is owned by Med ...

. Raynor made a comeback in 2012 with the mixtape, ''Pre-cumm'', a title given for "pure shock value"; she has also worked on producing a lingerie line. In 2017, Raynor released different songs and videos together with European rapper CHG Unfadable.

Personal

Raynor is the younger sister of singer Kima Raynor.The Motherlode, 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop By Clover Hope · 2021
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Discography

Mixtapes

Filmography

References

External links

Vita at MySpace
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vita Living people African-American women rappers American women rappers American actresses 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American women musicians Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century women rappers