Lil Debbie

A rap artist with a roughneck style (and a fondness for weed) that runs counter to her cool blonde good looks (she’s also worked as a model and fashion designer), Lil Debbie is the stage name of Jordan Capozzi. She was born in Albany, California, a town in Northern California’s Bay Area, on February 2, 1990. Her father was a musician, and her mother worked in the fashion industry. Young Jordan picked up her interest in hip-hop from her older sister’s longtime boyfriend; he was a serious fan of Mac Dre, and she became hooked on his hyphy-anticipating style. When she was 15, Jordan struck up a friendship with two other hip-hop fans, Natassia Zolot and Vanessa Reece. A few years later, Capozzi would adopt the stage name Lil Debbie, while Zolot began calling herself Kreayshawn and Reece became V-Nasty. The three formed a rap act known as the White Girl Mob, with Lil Debbie initially serving as DJ. The White Girl Mob hit their peak in 2011, when they appeared on Kreayshawn’s single “Gucci Gucci” and performed in its music video. The song became a viral hit and led to Kreayshawn landing a major-label record deal, but in September 2011, personal differences led to Debbie being kicked out of the group. After leaving the White Girl Mob, Debbie shifted her focus to rapping instead of DJ’ing, and she teamed up with eccentric rapper Riff Raff, who helped her craft the tracks “Squirt,” “2 Cups,” and “Gotta Ball,” which became online hits. Debbie also appeared frequently in videos for her songs, in which she played up her sexiness, often appearing in bikinis or lingerie. In July 2012, Debbie dropped her first mixtape, Keep It Lit, and an EP, Queen D, followed in October 2013. Debbie’s first full-length mixtape, California Sweetheart, arrived in October 2014, and she appeared as a guest artist on releases by Dizzy Wright, Sasha Go Hard, Trinidad James, and Demrick, among others. Debbie also generated controversy by insisting in interviews that Miley Cyrus had stolen her fashion sense and twerking style from her, particularly from her “Ratchets” video. In 2015, Debbie released an EP, Home Grown, which featured cameo appearances from Wiz Khalifa and Paul Wall; suitably, that year she also introduced her own line of edible cannabis products, dubbed Cakes. In July 2016, Lil Debbie finally released her first proper full-length album, simply titled Debbie. The prolific rapper was back in 2017 with the EP XXIII; she also appeared at Insane Clown Posse’s 17th annual Gathering of the Juggalos that year. ~ Mark Deming