Veteran rapper, Nikki D, was the first female rapper signed to Def Jam Recordings back in 1989. In 1991, Def Jam released her first and only album, ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’. She reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart with her commercial hit single ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’ which spoke wisdom to the younger generation of women and the street smart banger ‘Hang On Kid’. “I wrote ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’ on the tour bus in Europe when I was 17 years old,” Nikki told me in a 2007 interview. Her tough yet poetic rhymes ranked her one of the top emcess of her time and paved the way for future Def Jam female artists like Boss, Foxy Brown and Shawnna.
She has performed on classic television series such as ‘In Living Color’ and ‘Soul Train’ and appeared in the cult classic, ‘Who’s the Man’.
Nikki D recorded several songs with artists such as Moby, Redman, Queen Latifah and EPMD before passing off the microphone.
In 1998, she served as the vice president of A&R at Flava Unit records, and she continued her relationship with Russell Simmons serving as Marketing manager of Phat Fashions. Nikki D proved from Day 1 that not only can women hang with the fellas on the mic, they can also transition into the executive position as well.
–Courtney Brown
