Lil Kim
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Tom Sinclair from Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+, stating “The Notorious K.I.M.’s barrage of aural sex is complemented by strong, often lush production and surprisingly, witty samples and interpolations.”[ii] Anyway, a year later Lil’ Kim collaborated with Christina Auguilera, Pink and Mya to sing the re-make of Lady Marmalade (originally from the LaBelle group which included Patti Labelle) and it became a hit song. It stayed number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 5 weeks, it was also a number 1 hit in 50 countries around the world, which resulted in Lil’ Kim along with the other young ladies winning a Grammy award. She also appeared in movies and television sitcoms, so she was on a roll, no matter what the critics had to say. Lil’ Kim
filmed in Movies
TitleYear of Release
She’s All That1999
Zoolander2001
Juwanna Mann2002
Gang of Roses2003
Lil’ Pimp2004
Nora’s Hair Salon2004
You’ve Got Servied2004
La Bella Mafia
Her third album La Bella Mafia (certified platinum by RIAA and selling 1 million copies) was released in 2003, and again, she produced another head banger! Again, I was happy that she still was dropping music, for there were so many rumors about her not dropping successful albums, just because of Notorious K.I.M. critical review and blah, blah, blah. This album debuted at number 4 on the U.S. Billboard’s Top R&B and Hip-Hop Albums chart, and at number 5 on the official Billboard 200, with a successful first week sales of 186,000 copies. In a nut shell this album had a better critical response, for instance, Metacritic gave it 65 out of 100. Nick Catucci, a critic for Spin Magazine, who gave the album 3 stars claimed, “The King is dead – long live the Queen”[i]. Stylus magazine critic Brett Berliner gave the album a B+ calling the album “one of the top hip-hop albums of 2003 and said, “Kim is now in a class of female MCs that includes only Rah Digga and MC Lyte and she’s more confident, funny, and sexy than any of them”. And Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave the album 3 stars stating the album was her “most consistent effort to date,” and added the album “plays like one giant bravado about everything: fame, money, power, sex, clothes, rhymes”[ii]
With a successful third album and sales, movies and television sitcoms, Kim was continuing to build her name; however her next album displayed the distress of disloyalty with some of her former crew members from Junior Mafia, which became The Naked Truth and a hit Reality TV series.
better critical response, for instance, Metacritic gave it 65 out of 100. Nick Catucci, a critic for Spin Magazine, who gave the album 3 stars claimed, “The King is dead – long live the Queen”[i]. Stylus magazine critic Brett Berliner gave the album a B+ calling the album “one of the top hip-hop albums of 2003 and said, “Kim is now in a class of female MCs that includes only Rah Digga and MC Lyte and she’s more confident, funny, and sexy than any of them”. And Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave the album 3 stars stating the album was her “most consistent effort to date,” and added the album “plays like one giant bravado about everything: fame, money, power, sex, clothes, rhymes”[ii]
With a successful third album and sales, movies and television sitcoms, Kim was continuing to build her name; however her next album displayed the distress of disloyalty with some of her former crew members from Junior Mafia, which became The Naked Truth and a hit Reality TV series. The Naked Truth, Count Down to Lockdown & Loyalty
Her fourth album, The Naked Truth was released in 2005 while she was going through a disturbing time with court dates, interviews, ridicule and the media coverage’s. I was so heartbroken at that time (as well as others) because Kim was facing 20 years in prison for charges of perjury and conspiracy for protecting her friends for a shooting that occurred in 2001 at New York hip-hop station Hot 97.[i] I am not going to revisit the whole mess, but her “real” friends, family, and fans were devastated and worried about the outcome of the court case. Fortunately, when the verdict was read on July 6th, 2005, she was sentenced to serve 1 year and day in federal prison.[ii] I wasrelievedthat she did not get a longer time, as I always say, “God is good. Amen”