Lil' Kim, known for hanging out with the MAFIA, will be partying with Soldierz during her Friday (July 13) birthday in Atlanta. The Junior MAFIA frontwoman will celebrate her birth at the club Liquid Assets with 404 Soldierz, a group associated with Kim's friend Jacob York, former president of Untertainment.

The 404 Soldierz will perform selections from their forthcoming Walk Like a Soldier album, scheduled for September 4 release. The follow-up to 1998's Elbow Room features a remix of the title track by Swizz Beatz and songs that could send any party into a frenzy.

The 404 Soldierz are slated to record with both Three 6 Mafia and Juvenile for the album, which was produced primarily by Shawty Redd and contains a number of club-geared cuts.

"You're looking for a club anthem when you write these songs," said C Dawg, who is joined in 404 Soldierz by Big Lee. "When you get a good club anthem, it's hard to stop it. Doing shows got the attention of bigger people and landed us a deal with Epic."

In a move sure to grab attention, the Soldierz featured R&B star Ginuwine on "We Do." Driven by a relaxed guitar, the track sounds tame compared to the remainder of the album's aggressive rumbles, which rival the rowdiness of Three 6 Mafia or Lil' Jon & East Side Boyz.

"When somebody pulls an album off the shelf and it says 'Featuring

Ginuwine,' they'll be like, 'Oh God, what they done did?' " Big Lee said. "But the lyrics are still street. It's like a club anthem on a different rhythm. It's to pull a different audience."

"At the same time," C Dawg added, "it leaves room for other artists to grow where we live. If Outkast was still doing the type of music they were doing when they first came out, me and Big Lee probably wouldn't be here. They grew to another level, a different audience. It made room for the next artist to come along and grow. We're trying to do the same thing. We're trying to grow so that other people can come along."

The 404 Soldierz have already undergone substantial growth. Born in Newark, New Jersey, C Dawg met Atlanta-area native Big Lee in 1996 while they were working with other groups. They decided to strike out on their own and released the regional hit Elbow Room.

Like other emerging acts, they supported the release by performing as much as possible. "We kept grinding at it," C Dawg said. "We got in the streets and hit the clubs in the different cities. We upgraded and got a little better and started grinding again."

The 404 Soldierz's grind will continue after they record with Three 6 Mafia and Juvenile next week. C Dawg and Big Lee will embark upon a 40-city promotional tour that kicks off in the Carolinas.

Regardless of where they go to promote their music, the 404 Soldierz do not want to be regarded as strictly a group from the "dirty South."

"The 404 Soldierz aren't trying to limit ourselves," Big Lee said. "You've got Christina Aguilera. If she needs a little Soldierz on her album, holler at us. You've got Jewel. If she needs some Soldierz behind her, holler. We're out to work with everybody."