Editing Lil' Mo (section)

===Beginnings (1996–2000)===
Mo began her career as a backing vocalist, session musician and songwriter. In early 1998, while submitting demo material to [[Elektra Records]] for [[Nicole Wray]]'s 1998 debut album, ''[[Make It Hot]]'', Mo caught the attention of [[Missy Elliott]],<ref name="skorpion">{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WziTxdzQ4_Q&feature=player_detailpage&t=445 |title=The Skorpion Show Interviews Lil' Mo |date=May 6, 2012 |website=The Skorpion Show |publisher=YouTube |access-date=January 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017093709/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WziTxdzQ4_Q&feature=player_detailpage&t=445 |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> who helped land her a contract deal with Elektra. On June 29, 1998, Mo released her debut single "[[5 Minutes (Lil' Mo song)|5 Minutes]]" from the ''[[Why Do Fools Fall in Love (soundtrack)|soundtrack]]'' for the [[Frankie Lymon]] biographical film ''[[Why Do Fools Fall in Love (film)|Why Do Fools Fall in Love]]''. The song was planned to appear on Mo's debut album, however when it underperformed in the US, it was pulled from the final track listing. Mo's debut album was originally set to be released in March 1999,<ref name="spin">{{Citation |last=Seymour |first=Craig |title=Most Likely to Have a Celebrity Death-Match with Lil' Kim: Lil' Mo |date=February 1999 |work=[[Spin (magazine)|SPIN]] |volume=15 |issue=2 |page=83 |issn=0886-3032}}</ref> however, it was pushed back multiple times during Elektra's attempts to revamp Mo's image and sound.<ref>{{Citation |last=Seymour |first=Craig |title=Shorty Hard Rock |date=August 2001 |work=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]] |volume=9 |issue=8 |page=127 |issn=1070-4701}}</ref>

Mo gained further exposure during this time for her features on [[Ol' Dirty Bastard]]'s cover of [[Billie Holiday]]'s "[[Good Morning Heartache]]", Missy Elliott's record-breaking single "[[Hot Boyz (song)|Hot Boyz]]", which spent 18 weeks at number one on the [[Hot Rap Songs|Hot Rap Singles]] from December 4, 1999, to March 25, 2000, and [[Ja Rule]]'s single "[[Put It on Me (Ja Rule song)|Put It on Me]]", which was a hit on both urban and pop radio, and reached number eight on the US pop charts.<ref name="allmusic"/> More collaborations by Ja Rule and Lil' Mo followed, including "[[I Cry (Ja Rule song)|I Cry]]", which repurposed [[The O'Jays]]' 1978 hit "Cry Together".