Happy Birthday, Tameka ‘Tiny’ Cottle!

Before she was a reality television star with her husband T.I., Tameka "Tiny" Cottle was a member of one of the '90s greatest R&B girl groups. Tiny, formerly a member of Xscape, turns 40 years old today.

Nicknamed for her short 4-foot-11-inch height, the singer joined Xscape in 1992, before the quartet was signed to Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings that same year. Dupri knew marketable talent when he saw it; Xscape released three albums, and they all went platinum before the group disbanded in 2000. The hits -- "Just Kickin'," "Understanding" and "My Little Secret" -- are still instantly recognizable.

Tiny also got a chance to flex her songwriting abilities and soprano vocals outside of Xscape. She and co-member Kandi Burruss won Grammys for their role in writing TLC's "No Scrubs," which is considered one of the trio's best songs. Tiny also lent her vocals to Lil' Kim's "I Know You See Me" and Lil Bow Wow's "Let's Get Down."

More recently, Tiny's marriage with fellow Georgia native T.I. has been a hot topic of conversation. The couple star in VH1's T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle alongside their kids. While the show made them a popular pairing, the marriage wasn't the most idealistic. T.I. and Tiny publicly feuded for a while, and the tension climaxed with a physical altercation at a Fatburger between T.I. and Floyd Mayweather. Tip thought Mayweather was getting too friendly with his wife, and Mayweather -- being Mayweather -- wasn't making any apologies.

But nothing really came of that altercation other than tabloid headlines. T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle is still on TV and some twenty-something is still singing along to "My Little Secret" somewhere.

Watch Xscape's "My Little Secret" Video

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