Lil' Kim

The Queen Bitch
myspace fan club
If you haven't yet done so, be sure to support Lil' Kim and purchase her latest album, The Naked Truth. The Source magazine rated it 5 mics - a hip hop classic! The album features the hit singles "Lighters Up", "Whoa", "Spell Check" and "Shut Up, Bitch"; as well as collaborations with Twista, Bun B, T.I., Scott Storch and many more!
Be sure to tune into BET on March 9th @ 9:30pm to catch the premiere episode of Lil' Kim's reality show, Countdown to Lockdown, which chronicles the two-weeks prior to Kim's incarceration.
Click below to view the hot new video for "Whoa"!*
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Lil' Kim
biography
It’s a rare thing to achieve icon status in music today, but Lil Kim, with her naughty-but-clever wordplay, bombshell beauty and enormous presence (despite her 4’11” frame), has earned that title. With four solo albums under her Fendi belt, a host of scene stealing cameos on hits from everyone from Jay-Z to Missy Elliot, movie roles, cosmetic contracts and the eyes of the fashion world on her, Kim has risen to heights that no other woman in hip hop has even come close to. Originally part of the late Notorious B.I.G.’s rap collective Junior M.A.F.I.A., in which she was the lone female, Kim's star power shone brightly on smashes like “Player’s Anthem” and “Get Money”. Her thugged-out Betty Boop delivery on those tracks helped propel Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s 1995 album, Conspiracy, into Billboard’s top 10 chart and established her as the lyrical Bonnie to Biggie’s Clyde.
In 1996, under the nurturing tutelage of Biggie, Kim went into the studio to record her debut album, the witty, rugged, sexually brazen Hard Core. With a team of A-list producers like Sean “Puffy” Combs, Jermaine Dupri and Prestige behind her, Kim kicked in the door with hits like “No Time”, “Queen Bitch” and “Crush on You”—shooting Hard Core to multi-platinum status and further establishing Kim as the reigning queen of hip hop. But, at a time when the Queen Bee should have been toasting her success, tragedy struck and changed her life forever. Her friend, lover, mentor and creative partner, The Notorious B.I.G., was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles on March 9th, 1997. And though Kim always penned her own rhymes, it was Biggie who would be by her side in the studio, guiding her.
His death not only shattered Kim personally and emotionally, but also challenged her creatively as she embarked on her highly anticipated follow-up to Hardcore. In 1998, with Sean “Puffy” Combs serving as an executive producer, Kim, who had just launched her own label, Queen Bee Records, went to work on The Notorious K.I.M., a work that both celebrated her infamous raunchy side and found her digging deeper emotionally. She put her mack hand down on the aggressive “Suck My Dick” where she flips the script on male posturing, and with friend Mary J. Blige, honored Biggie with the poignant, “Hold On”.
With the platinum-selling The Notorious K.I.M., Kim’s start once again shone, as she graced the covers of a myriad of magazines including The Source, XXL, Interview and Vibe. She landed the coveted spot of being a spokesmodel for MAC cosmetic’s Viva Glam lipstick, along with Mary J. Blige, and was also picked to endorse both Candie’s Shoes and Iceberg Jeans. She also branched out onto the big screen, playing her first movie role as a snobby high-school student in “She’s All That,” appeared on television in Pamela Anderson’s V.I.P., and in the comedy "Juwanna Mann"; just to name a few.
Kim also brought the heat to the ensemble of Christina Aguilera, Pink, Mya and Missy Elliot for the 2001 remake of “Lady Marmalade” for the Moulin Rouge Soundtrack, which not only won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film—it took home the Grammy for the Best Pop Collaboration with vocals at the 2002 Grammy Awards. But nowadays, she’s not running her label, acting, attending Paris fashion shows or lending her fiery flow to fellow artists’ tracks, the diminutive diva is incarcerated in a Philadelphia detention center. The 366-day-prison-term was handed down to her last September for perjury (giving false testimony in court regarding a 2001 shoot-out near New York's Hot97 radio station). And though the sentence seemed very unfair, Kim held her head up and released her fourth album The Naked Truth and even managed to shoot videos, photoshoots and record new material before heading into the big house.
It is rumored that Kim could be released as early as June, and the Queen Bee stated herself she plans to head straight to the studio and begin work on a fifth solo album when released. Not to mention her Hollyhood clothing line and countless other projects. So, while some emcees come and go, there’s no doubt that rap’s Mae West is here to stay. A multi-faceted superstar with unlimited potential, Kim has truly emerged as an icon whose persona looms larger than hip hop—an ICON, if you will.