Long Live the Queen

“I come from Bed-Sty where niggers either do or they gone die,” raps Lil Kim on her track ‘Lighters Up.’ All stories must have a beginning and the self-hailed Queen of Rap starts in Bed-Sty, Brooklyn.

Kimberley Jones (as perhaps what her parents may know her as) left home in her late teens after having a turbulent relationship with her father. It is alleged whilst homeless that she had even turned to prostitution as means of making money. Having slept on the sofas of many of her friends she was eventually introduced to her mentor and secret lover Christopher ‘Notorious B.I.G’ Wallace. Being impressed by her lyrical and rapping skills he invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A. In 1996, their lead single ‘Players Anthem’ had the Queen Bee’s bars smacking up the whole tune and propelled her to the attention of the Sean ‘Puffy Daddy’ Combs. He produced her first album ‘Hardcore’ and their duet ‘No Time,’ spent nine weeks at the number one spot on the US Rap Charts. Rap had finally got a female perspective.

The murder of Biggie in 1997, took a toll on the rapstress, consequently she took a three year break from the scene. Bouncing back in 2000, she released her second album ‘The Notorious K.I.M’ in homage to her mentor which sold 165,000 copies in the first week becoming certified platinum. Having won six Grammy Awards including ‘Best Collaboration with Vocals’ for ‘Lady Marmalade’ the song was a part of the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Where it reached number one in over fifty countries and this made her the first female rap artist to have a number one on the US Billboard Charts.

She is also the first female rapper to receive a five mic rating from The Source, hip-hop’s version of Vogue, for the album ‘The Naked Truth.’ The album was released a week before her year-long jail sentence, in an interview with Vibe magazine she said: “I knew when the verdict came down and then the sentencing that I didn’t have any time to play around. I’d never done an album so fast before, and in a way it was a good thing. The music just kind of rolled out.” She was convicted for perjury for a crime she claimed she did not witness, but later admitted she lied under oath. Perhaps one of the few actual rappers to spend time in the pen Lil Kim lied to protect her manager and friend who were involved in a shootout with rival rap group Capone’n’Noreoga . Her friend Lil Cease and fellow rapper from Junior M.A.F.I.A testified that he saw Lil Kim and the others at Hot 97 studio (the most renowned hip-hop radio station for any beef between rappers). In the song ‘Whoa’ she says: “Fuck Junior M.A.F.I.A., that chapter is through/Them faggots done did something that they can’t undo.” The sentencing of Lil Kim even pulled at the heartstrings of Debbie Harry of Blondie who recorded the song ‘Dirty and Deep’ in protest of her conviction. Of her experience of being betrayed Lil Kim once said: “A lot of people let me down. A lot of people who I thought were my friends turned on me.”

The 4’’1 rapper has more swagger and bravado to rival most of her male contemporises. Her explicit lyrics, sexual confidence and edgy rhythms broke boundaries for female rap spawning many imitators. Her taste for all things designer may explain her friendships with Marc Jacobs and Robert Cavalli, both of whom designed t-shirts for the Brooklyn-born rapstress. The money raised was for The Door, an American charity that helps young people who are at risk. She said in an interview: “Marc and Robert are both very dear friends of mine, and when I was told that they would be designing a T-shirt in honour of me and donating the proceeds to a charity that was very dear to my heart, I was completely blown away by their generosity and thoughtfulness.”