出身布鲁克林的Hip-Hop/Gangsta Rap团体Junior M.A.F.I.A.的Lil’Kim，1995年以专辑《Conspiracy》打进Billboard节奏蓝调专辑榜亚军及流行榜Top10，并缔造Player掇 Anthem、Get Money等畅销曲。1996年单飞后的Lil’Kim，与吹牛老爹Puff Daddy一起製作了首张个人专辑《Hard Core》，首週即进驻Billboard专辑榜第11名，单曲No Time更是在饶舌榜的冠军宝座待了9週，其他如Hard Core、Not Tonight等作品也都有白金唱片的纪录。期待以久的第二张大碟《The Notorious Kim》，由Lil’Kim自组的音乐厂牌Queen Bee Records发行，并请到R
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
After making her presence known on Junior M.A.F.I.A.s debut album, Conspiracy, Lil Kim launched a solo career in 1996 with the release of her first record, Hard Core. As the albums title implies, Kim was a rarity among female rappers — one who not only concentrated on edgy hardcore rap but also explicit sexuality, two territories that had long been the province of male rappers. Of course, Kims near-pornographic sexuality and hard-edged rhythms made her an anomaly within hip-hop, but Hard Core proved that she was no novelty, as it garnered positive reviews and strong sales.
A native of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Lil Kim was raised by her parents until they split up when she was nine years old. Following their separation, she lived with her father, yet he threw her out of the house when she was a teenager. As a teen, she lived with her friends and, occasionally, on the streets. Eventually, she and her rhyming skills came to the attention of Biggie Smalls, who helped her cultivate her career. Smalls helped her become a member of Junior M.A.F.I.A., and Kim was a key part of the groups hit debut single, Players Anthem. Kim also made a big impression on the remainder of Junior M.A.F.I.A.s 1995 debut album, Conspiracy.
Following the release of Conspiracy, Kim appeared on records by Mona Lisa, the Isley Brothers, Total, and Skin Deep. For her debut album, she worked with a variety of producers, including Sean Puffy Combs, High Class, Jermaine Dupri, and Ski. The result, entitled Hard Core, was released in late 1996. Kims marketing campaign for the album was quite provocative — she was dressed in a skimpy bikini and furs in the advertisements, as well as the album covers — but instead of resulting in a backlash, the album became a hit, debuting at number 11 on the pop charts. The first single from the album, No Time, a duet with Sean Puffy Combs, became a number one rap single. The long-awaited Notorious K.I.M. followed in 2000, and then came La Bella Mafia in 2003.
Two years later Kim was in court defending herself against a perjury charge. She was eventually convicted of lying to a federal grand jury about her knowledge of a 2001 shooting outside of New Yorks influential radio station Hot 97 FM. Kim had claimed she wasnt aware that her manager and a friend were present, but surveillance cameras proved the two were there. In September of that year, the new album The Naked Truth appeared while its Lighters Up single was dominating urban radio. Documenting the rappers preparations for incarceration, the BET reality show Lil Kim: Countdown to Lockdown first aired in March 2006 and became the most watched series debut in the networks history. On July 3, 2006, she was released on good behavior after serving ten months of her 12-month sentence. Kim exited the prison in a silver Rolls Royce.