By Tennille Ayers
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), better known by her stage name Lil’ Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, she would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage. In 1994, she was discovered by fellow rapper the Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Lil’ Kim’s debut studio album Hard Core (1996) was certified double platinum in March 2001. Since its release, it has sold more than six million copies worldwide and spawned three successful singles: “No Time“, “Not Tonight (Ladies Night)“, and “Crush on You“. Hard Core had the highest debut in the US for a female rap album at the time. Her following albums, The Notorious K.I.M. (2000) and La Bella Mafia (2003) were also certified platinum. In 2001, Lil’ Kim reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with the single “Lady Marmalade” (a remake of LaBelle’s 1974 single), alongside Christina Aguilera, Mýa, and Pink. The song also won her the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Other notable singles from this period include “The Jump Off” and “Magic Stick“, the latter of which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her 2nd-highest-charting single as a lead artist.
In 2005, Lil’ Kim served a one-year prison sentence for lying to a jury about her friends’ involvement in a shooting four years earlier. During her incarceration, her fourth album, The Naked Truth, was released to positive reviews from critics. A reality series covering her sentence, Lil’ Kim: Countdown to Lockdown, premiered on BET in 2006. She then released her first mixtape, Ms. G.O.A.T. (2008) and returned to the public eye in 2009 with an appearance on Dancing with the Stars. Throughout the 2010s, she continued to release music and perform sporadically, collaborating with artists such as Faith Evans, Remy Ma, and Fabolous. Her fifth studio album, 9, was released in 2019.
Lil’ Kim has been referred to as the “Queen of Rap“, as well as her alias “Queen Bee” by several media outlets. She has sold more than 15 million albums and 30 million singles worldwide. Her songs “No Time”, “Big Momma Thang”, and “Not Tonight (Ladies Night)” were each listed on Complex‘s list of the 50 Best Rap Songs By Women. In 2012, she was listed on VH1‘s 100 Greatest Women in Music list at number 45, the second-highest position for a solo female hip-hop artist.
Aside from music, she is also known for her risk-taking and luxurious approach to fashion which has inspired many artists; she has been cited as a fashion icon. Her collaboration with celebrity nail artist Bernadette Thompson for the 1999 “Money Nails” design she wore is credited with bringing intricate nail art into mainstream fashion and has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. Lil’ Kim has been noted for helping women embrace their “sexuality and femininity” in a way that was a stark contrast at the time from other female artists.
Lil’ Kim cited as her rap influences MC Lyte, Salt-N-Pepa and Roxanne Shanté. She was also influenced by Slick Rick, the Notorious B.I.G., Eric B. & Rakim, Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige. Lil’ Kim also cited Madonna as an influence, saying she modeled her own career on Madonna’s, and labeling herself as the “Black Madonna“.
Jones was born in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, the second child of Linwood Jones, a former U.S. Marine.[ She has an older brother, Christopher. As a child, Jones attended Queen of All Saints Elementary School in Brooklyn. When she was nine years old, her parents separated, and Jones was raised by her father, with whom she had a tumultuous relationship. At fourteen, she left home, began living on the streets, and ultimately dropped out of high school.
As a teenager, Jones met Christopher Wallace, known professionally as the Notorious B.I.G. Wallace was a key figure in both her personal and artistic life, particularly after he gained popularity and influence through his relationship with Bad Boy Records. Jones attended Sarah J. Hale Vocational High School for two-and-a-half years. She and her friends often skipped school. As she was not completing her schoolwork, the decision was made for her to transfer to Brooklyn College Academy to finish her remaining year and a half of high school.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
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Puzzle of the Day
In 1847, songwriter Stephen Foster’s first major hit, “Oh! Susanna,” was performed for the first time, in a Pittsburgh saloon. It soon became a standard for minstrel shows.
In 1859, Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” was published.
In 1914, legendary hitter Babe Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball. The Great Bambino would go on to become one of the greatest baseball players of all time and was included in the initial class of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 1952, U.S. Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate, with Richard Nixon as his running mate. They were elected that November.
In 1955, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado was dedicated, with 300 cadets in its first class.
In 1960, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was published.
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