Lil’ Kim-Return of the Queen 2012, It’s All About Her
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Furthermore, when her solo album, Hardcore was released in 1996 (which went 2 times platinum by RIAA in 2001) and she did the hot and sexy Crush on You video, everybody and their mother changed their hair to: green, blue, red, or yellow (not that it wasn’t done before.) Not to mention the well known poster promoting her (see below this paragraph) album took everyone’s breath away! I had my mouth and eyes wide open with a smile when I saw the poster. I even posed in a few pictures, with her exact pose, I sure did! But I won’t be posted it…darn. At that time, no other female in the Rap/Hip-Hop industry squatted down with a leopard sexy negligee outfit with a fur shawl, and sexy heels to match, ever. I will never forget those days. Her poster stirred up a lot of controversy with the media, radio show hosts, and more, yet that did not stop her shine. The songs on her album were also a new uprising to female Rap, the lyrics are explicit, and she did not hold back with sex appeal. In that era, people was so use to hearing the men Rap hardcore, however, Lil’ Kim shocked the music industry. Lil’ Kim’s sexy Rap lyrics and personality has gotten her very far, she also became a fashion and style icon. She started to appear in every well known magazine cover, such as, King, The Source, Allure, Sister to Sister, Vibe, Nylon, Black Men, genre, Due, XXL, OneWorld, Kontrol and more. Lil’ Kim modeled for various fashion companies including: Versace, Iceberg, Marc Jacobs (he loves Kim) Baby Phat and more Before her second album, a tragic death of late, Christopher Wallace, stage names: Notorious B.I.G.(a.k.a Biggie Smalls) has caused a lot of pain and hurt to the Rap industry, fans (including me until this day), family and friends. Lil’ Kim was and still is extremely hurt by his death, for he believed in her talent, helped mentored her and they were also in a serious relationship. Post to his death, Lil’ Kim secluded herself from everyone to mourn the tragic lost. When it came to performances it took her a little bit to grasp the reality of him not performing with her. Yet, she pulled herself together and continued the legacy of Notorious B.I.G., despite the rumors, gossip and the media.
death, for he believed in her talent, helped mentored her and they were also in a serious relationship. Post to his death, Lil’ Kim secluded herself from everyone to mourn the tragic lost. When it came to performances it took her a little bit to grasp the reality of him not performing with her. Yet, she pulled herself together and continued the legacy of Notorious B.I.G., despite the rumors, gossip and the media. A Brighter Future Ahead
Lil’ Kim’s second album Notorious K.I.M. was released in the year 2000 (certified platinum by RIAA August 2000.) Kim new look and style was another attention getter (see below this paragraph), and of course the music went right along with it, in my opinion. Her face expression, half naked body poster and gold blonde hair said “I ain’t going anywhere; I am still right here and still standing strong. Come test me nuh! Puurrrrrr” I just love her. Moving on, during this album she was still mourning the loss of Notorious B.I.G., yet she carried on his legacy, and she showed it by naming the album, Notorious K.I.M., and painted it across her stomach, which is so adorable, yet heartbreaking (R.I.P. Biggie.)
Back then when I first saw the album cover, I said while buying the album, “Kim got a tattoo across her stomach?” However, later, I was relieved when I saw her modeling for a particular fashion company and it was not real (Hey! I didn’t know). The songs on this particular album are a little different from Hardcore, but with a new sexy sound to it. The critics had a different perspective, and do not understand why most of them did not approve of Notorious K.IM. Some of the critics, such as, Jam Music, Mike Ross stated “failed to live up to its hype.”[i] And Tom Sinclair from Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+,