Rap vixen Lil' Kim currently is getting all the attention right now with her latest CD La Belle Mafia, which debuted at No. 5 on Billboard's 200 album chart (for the week ending March 22). Kim's sex appeal (i.e., her boobs) and the Timbaland-blessed banger "The Jump Off" has propeled her to the thrown of Queen Bee the elite MC.

But listeners need to take a look at another sassy femcee who is promoting brains over booty with lyrical wisdom well beyond her 22 years.

In a span of three years, U.K. rhyme-spitter Ms. Dynamite has gone from a relative unknown to the next big thing. She went from rhyming at house parties just to get a rep to having toured all over the world, opening up for big name American acts like Eminem and Destiny's Child. Not bad for a girl who wanted to be a social worker or teacher before scrapping that career altogether so she could pursue music.

Ms. Dynamite (real name Niomi McLean-Daley) grew up in North London where she was the oldest daughter in a family of ten brothers and sisters. She began "chatting" (or rapping) when she was 18 years old, spitting rhymes at local rave parties and talent shows. Her big break came when she met 2-Step producer Sticky and the pair began recording her debut single called "Boooo!," which became the hottest club joint on the U.K. garage scene.

Soon thereafter, Ms. Dynamite was hooking up with the right people and began recording her solo outing, A Little Deeper. Upon its release in 2002, the disc blew up (excuse the pun) on the U.K. music scene and hailed as "a kick up the arse [ass] for British music."

Now the explosive rhyme-slinger brings her Brit-Hop Soul sound to America hoping to duplicate the success she has garnered in the U.K. Her disc, A Little Deeper, is deep with introspective rhymes, personal messages, and lovelorn ballads. In comparison, Ms. D's self-consciousness is reminscent of Lauryn Hill's thoughful zeal on her beloved 1998 gem Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Beatmaker Saalam Remi - who helmed most of the tracks on Lauryn's disc - produced some of the songs on Dynamite's disc, as well as sonic-crafters Punch, Tony and Dave Kelly. The CD also boasts a remixed track ("Afraid 2 Fly" remix featuring Nas) and two unreleased gems.

The disc's centerpieces are the anti-bling banger "It Takes More"; the uplifting "Seeds Will Grow" (feat. Kymani Marley); the touching "All I Ever"; the biographical "Dy-na-mi-tee," the yearning "Gotta Let U Know," the empowering "Put Him Out" and the introspective ballad "A Little Deeper."

"I feel that my [songs are] mainly about being positive and being more aware as a responsible person for the sake of young people, who I see as our future," she says. "I think that comes across in every song, although that's not necessarily a dominant theme."

The 22-year-old rap-singer's hard work certainly has paid off - last year, Ms. D became the first black female artist to win Britain's most prestigious musical honor the Mercury Music Prize for Album of the Year. The femcee also nabbed three MOBO awards (U.K.'s urban music award) and two Brit Awards (the U.K. equivalent to the American Music Awards).

Quite simply, Ms. Dynamite is the Queen of Brit-Hop Soul.

Ms. Dynamite - U.S. site

To listen to clips from A Little Deeper, click this.