b. Kimberly Jones, 11 July 1975, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. Having survived some time on the streets as a teenager, the diminutive Lil’ Kim was aided by Biggie Smalls (the Notorious B.I.G. ) who helped her team up with the New York rap collective Junior M.A.F.I.A. . A strong response to her contributions to their 1995 debut single, ‘Player’s Anthem’, and the ensuing Conspiracy, earned her comparisons with MC Lyte for her adept microphone skills. She then worked on albums by artists including Skin Deep and Total, before launching her own career in 1996 with Hard Core. This sexually explicit hardcore rap album came as something of a shock in the male-dominated world of hip-hop, but an aggressive marketing campaign and strong reviews helped it reach number 11 in the Billboard charts. The album featured an array of star producers, including Puff Daddy, with whom Lil’ Kim duetted on the number 1 rap single ‘No Time’.
Like many hip-hop artists Lil’ Kim then established an acting career, appearing in 1999’s hit comedy, She’s All That. Her second album, Notorious K.I.M., was released the following June, with a host of guest artists attempting to fill the void left following the untimely murder of the Notorious B.I.G.. In February 2001, members of Lil’ Kim’s entourage were involved in a shootout with rival group Capone-N-Noreaga outside the New York radio station Hot 97. Following the incident a lengthy hiatus ensued before La Belle Mafia was released in March 2003. The album was a lesser set although it did spawn the massive US hit single ‘Magic Stick’, featuring the rap success of 2003, 50 Cent. The 2001 shootout came back to haunt Lil’ Kim in March 2005 when she was convicted of conspiracy and perjury for lying to a federal grand jury about her friends’ involvement in the incident. She was sentenced to a year and one day in a Philadelphia prison camp, beginning her sentence on 19 September. Her new album The Naked Truth was released shortly after her incarceration.
