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Lil' Kim
Lil' Kim in 2012
BornKimberly Denise Jones
(1974-07-11) July 11, 1974 (age 50) or (1975-07-11) July 11, 1975 (age 49) (sources differ)
Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Other names
  • Queen Bee
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
  • actress
  • philanthropist
  • model
Years active1994–present
Children1
Awardssee List of awards and nominations
Musical career
Genres
Instrument
  • Vocals
Labels
Musical artist
Websitelilkim.com

Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974 or July 11, 1975), known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, model, and actress. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, living much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, Jones would freestyle rap, heavily influenced by actress/singer Diana Ross, and fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and The Lady of Rage. Performing a freestyle rap for The Notorious B.I.G. got her music career start in 1995 with his group Junior M.A.F.I.A., whose debut album Conspiracy generated two top 20 singles in the United States.

Lil' Kim's debut studio album, Hard Core (1996) was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and spawned three consecutive No. 1 rap hits: "No Time", "Not Tonight (Ladies Night remix)", and "Crush on You", a record for a female rapper. Her following albums, The Notorious K.I.M. (2000) and La Bella Mafia (2003), were certified Platinum, making her the only female rapper besides Missy Elliott to have at least 3 platinum albums. She was featured on the single "Lady Marmalade", which also had guest vocals by fellow recording artists Mýa, Pink and Christina Aguilera (a remake of the 1975 smash hit, originally recorded by LaBelle) which went to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, making her the second female rapper to have a No. 1 on that chart after Lauryn Hill. In addition, the remake won two MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year, and a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Grammy Awards in 2002. In 2005, she served a yearlong 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. She returned to the public eye in 2009 with an appearance on Dancing with the Stars.

Throughout her career, Jones has sold over 15 million albums and 30 million singles worldwide and has earned several accolades for her work. Her songs "No Time", "Big Momma Thang" and "Ladies Night" were listed on Complex Magazine's "The 50 Best Rap Songs By Women", at number 24, 13 and 7, respectively. Crush On You, It's All About the Benjamins and Money, Power, Respect appear on VH1's "The 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs". In 2012, Lil' Kim was honorably listed on VH1's "100 Greatest Women In Music" list at number 45, the second highest position for a solo female hip-hop artist.

Life and career

Early life and career beginnings

Jones was born in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the second child of Linwood Jones, a former U.S. Marine, and Ruby Jones (later Ruby Jones-Mitchell). She has one older brother named Christopher. As a child, Jones attended Queen of All Saints Elementary School in Brooklyn. At the age of 9, her parents separated, and Jones was raised by her father, with whom she had a tumultuous relationship. After being kicked out of her house by her dad, Jones dropped out of high school and started living out on the streets.

While still a teen, Jones met The Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls (real name Christopher Wallace), who was a key figure in both her personal and artistic life, particularly after Wallace gained popularity and influence through his relationship with Bad Boy Records, founded by Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs. Jones attended Sarah J. Hale Vocational High School for two and a half years. Many of her friends also went there and she would often skip school to hang out with them. Since her school work wasn't being completed, the decision was made for her to transfer to Brooklyn College Academy to finish her remaining year and half of school. It was the same school that fellow rappers Nas and Foxy Brown also attended.

In 1994, B.I.G. was instrumental in introducing and promoting the Brooklyn-based group, Junior M.A.F.I.A., which included Jones, who was only 19 at the time. The group's first and only album, Conspiracy, was released to mediocre reviews and moderate sales on August 29, 1995 and debuted at number eight on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 69,000 copies in its first week of release. Wallace wrote (and ghostwrote) most of the album's material. Three hit singles came from Conspiracy: "Player's Anthem" (peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 2 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart), "I Need You Tonight" (No. 43 R&B, No. 12 Rap), and "Get Money" (No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 4 R&B, No. 2 Rap). The RIAA certified Conspiracy gold on December 6, 1995. "Player's Anthem" and "Get Money" were certified gold and platinum respectively. Jones' increasing popularity as a member of Junior M.A.F.I.A. allowed her to start a solo career shortly after the Conspiracy album was released, and she began working on what would become her debut album Hard Core by late 1995.

1996–2002: Hard Core and The Notorious K.I.M.

After a year with Junior M.A.F.I.A., Jones began a solo career by making guest performances on R&B albums and recording her debut album, Hard Core, which was released in November 1996. The album debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, the highest debut for a female rap album at that time, and No. 3 on Billboard's Top R&B Albums, selling 78,000 copies in its first week of release. Hard Core was certified double platinum by the RIAA on March 14, 2001 after having been certified gold on January 6, 1997 and platinum on June 3, 1997. The album's lead single "No Time", a duet with Combs (who would later change his stage name to "P. Diddy" and then "Diddy"), reached the top spot of the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart and was certified gold by the RIAA. The following single, "Crush on You", reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on the rap chart. A remix of the album's track "Not Tonight" saw Jones team up with Missy Elliott, Angie Martinez, Da Brat and Left Eye of TLC. The song was part of the soundtrack to the Martin Lawrence movie Nothing to Lose, nominated for a Grammy Award, and certified platinum. In one stockholders' meeting of Warner Bros. Records, activist C. Delores Tucker criticized the label "for producing this filth," referring to perceived graphic sexual content in Jones' lyrics, and labeling them "gangsta porno rap". In 1997, Jones promoted Hard Core by performing on P. Diddy's "No Way Out" tour. The tour continued though to 1998 and became one of the highest grossing hip-hop tours of all time, grossing an estimated $16 million. That same year, she launched her own label Queen Bee Entertainment. From 1998 to 2000, Jones continued her road to stardom under the management of B.I.G.'s best friend, Damion "D-Roc" Butler's "Roc Management", touring and modeling for various fashion and pop culture companies including Candie's, Versace, Iceberg, and Baby Phat. and even though she had not had an album of her own released, she was seen on dozens of remixes and guest appearances on other artist's records.

On June 27, 2000, Jones released her second album The Notorious K.I.M. The album marked a new image and revamped look for the rapper. Despite the limited success of its singles, the album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, selling 229,000 copies in its first week. It was certified platinum by the RIAA, four weeks after its release. It was on this LP that the well-known hip-hop feud between Jones and Foxy Brown escalated. In 2001, Jones teamed up with Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Mýa to remake "Lady Marmalade", which was originally written about a bordello in New Orleans and performed by the group Labelle (which included diva Patti LaBelle) 25 years earlier. The song was recorded for the Moulin Rouge! film soundtrack, released in April 2001, and stayed No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks. The song also went to No. 1 in 50 countries around the world. This was a big accomplishment for female rap, as well as for Jones, who scored her first No. 1 Hot 100 hit and became the second solo female rapper in history to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. "Lady Marmalade" also garnered Jones her first Grammy Award. Jones also performed in two international hit singles. "In the Air Tonite", a remix of the Phil Collins song "In the Air Tonight" and duet with Collins, was released as a single from the Collins tribute album Urban Renewal. The second single, "Kimnotyze", was released as the lead single of record producer DJ Tomekk's compilation album Beat Of Life, Vol 1. It was released in Switzerland, Austria and Germany only. The song was successful, becoming Jones third consecutive top 10 hit in Germany after her number 5 hit "Lady Marmalade".

In 2002, Jones recorded a new entrance theme for then World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Women's Champion Trish Stratus entitled, "Time to Rock 'n Roll", which was used during broadcasts, until Stratus' retirement. The single was released on WWE Anthology, a compilation of entrance theme music to various professional wrestling superstars. Jones released the buzz song "Whats The Word" in mid-2002. Despite not having an official release, it went on to peak at number 9 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. It would later be released on the Japan edition of her third studio album, La Bella Mafia, as a bonus track.

2003–05: La Bella Mafia and legal problems

On March 4, 2003, Jones released her third studio album, La Bella Mafia. It debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200, selling 166,000 copies in its first week, giving Jones her second consecutive top 5 album. The album received generally positive reviews from critics, receiving a score of 65 on Metacritic. A buzz single, "Came Back For You", was released ahead of the album, the music video for the song featured reality television personality Victoria Gotti. The first single, "The Jump Off", featuring Mr. Cheeks, peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Follow up single, "Magic Stick", featuring 50 Cent, peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying there for three weeks. The song never had a commercial release or a music video, but was successful due to high radio airplay, peaking at number 1 on Billboards Airplay chart. A third US only single, "Thug Luv", featuring Twista, was released in the last quarter of 2003 at peaked at number 60 on Billboards Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album was certified platinum in the US, selling over 1.1 million copies. Jones promoted the album with a string of concerts, which also featured DMX and Nas. Jones was nominated for five Source Awards and won two ("Female Hip-Hop Artist of the Year", and "Female Single of the Year"). The album also got two Grammy Award nominations for Best Female Rap Solo Performance ("Came Back For You") and Best Rap Collaboration ("Magic Stick"). She was also nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with singer Christina Aguilera for the song "Can't Hold Us Down", from Aguilera's album Stripped.

Greg Thomas, an English professor at Syracuse University, began teaching "Hip-Hop Eshu: Queen B@#$H Lyricism 101". Jones herself was a guest speaker at the school. Professor Thomas considered Jones' lyrics "the art with the most profound sexual politics I've ever seen anywhere." David Horowitz criticized the course as "academic degeneracy and decline". Jones also made an appearance on the multi-platform videogame Def Jam: Fight for NY. Jones provided voice-overs for her part in the storyline, where the player may fight an opponent to have Jones as their girlfriend. In 2004, Jones recorded a cover of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" which was used as the opening theme for Victoria Gotti's reality series Growing Up Gotti. The same year Jones was featured on the remix of "Naughty Girl" by Beyoncé Knowles. In December 2004, Jones began recording a pilot for a VH1 reality show titled 718 Makeover. The 718 in the title is the area code for Brooklyn, where Jones grew up. The show never made it to air.

On March 17, 2005, Jones was convicted of three counts of conspiracy and one count of perjury for lying to a Federal grand jury about her and her friends' involvement in a 2001 shooting outside the Hot 97 studios in Manhattan. During the trial of her co-manager, Damion "D-Roc" Butler, and her bodyguard, Suif "Gutta" Jackson, a former member of the hip-hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A, she testified not to have known they were at the scene. However, video footage from a security camera placed all three at the scene, exiting the building. This directly contravened testimony before the grand jury. Butler and Jackson have since pleaded guilty to gun charges. Jackson was sentenced, in U.S. District Court, to twelve years in federal prison as part of plea bargain in which he admitted to firing at least twenty rounds during the incident. The length of the sentence was said to have been influenced by his previous gun-related convictions. In July 2005, Jones was sentenced to a one-year and a day in prison, thirty days home detention upon release from custody, and three years of probation. She served the entirety of her sentence at the Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia in Center City, Philadelphia. She was released on July 3, 2006, after serving approximately 12 months. Jones, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Register #56198-054, was released from BOP supervision on August 2, 2006.

2005–08: The Naked Truth and Ms. G.O.A.T

Lil' Kim performing at Way Out West festival, 2008

Jones released her fourth album, The Naked Truth, on September 27, 2005, while serving a federal prison sentence. It earned her a 5 mic rating from The Source, making her the only female rapper to ever receive a 5 mic rating. The album debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 109,000 copies in its first week of release, giving Jones her third Top 10 debut on the chart. The Naked Truth did not sell as well as her previous works, it only managed to reach a Gold certification by RIAA. She said that her prison sentence left her with no time to promote the project. The music video for The Naked Truth's first single, "Lighters Up", was number one on BET's 106 & Park for two weeks. "Lighters Up" was a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The single also reached No. 67 on the German Single Chart, No. 12 on the UK Top 75 and No. 4 on the Finland Single Chart. The second single, "Whoa" was released on February 17, 2006. It reached No. 22 on Airplay.

On March 9, 2006, BET premiered the show Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown, which was filmed before Jones headed to prison. The show became the highest rated premiere in BET history, averaging 1.9 million viewers. In May 2006, Debbie Harry released a song in tribute to Jones called "Dirty and Deep" in protest of her conviction. The song was available for free from her official website. The Dance Remixes, her first compilation album was released on June 6, 2006. The album featured remixes of songs from The Naked Truth and Hard Core. A limited pressing released only in the US, it received no promotion, due to Jones being in prison at the time of release, and failed to chart. On August 31, 2006, Jones presented the award for Best Male Video at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, it marked her first televised appearance since being released from prison. She also made appearances on the show The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll and Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious in 2007 and 2008 as a judge.

In January 2008, Jones announced that she had parted ways with Atlantic Records, choosing to release future projects independently. She stated she had no hard feelings towards Atlantic but felt more comfortable in her knowledge of the music business to do it alone. Jones released her first mixtape, Ms. G.O.A.T., an acronym for "Greatest of All Time", on June 3, 2008. It was produced by New York City DJs Mister Cee and DJ Whoo Kid. Among critics, the mixtape received generally positive reviews. It has been called a representation of Jones's return to the streets. Tito Salinas of All Hip Hop says "Lil' Kim shows that her time behind bars did not rust all of her swag away" on Ms. G.O.A.T. On the other hand, Ehren Gresehover of New York Mag says that although one of the tracks "The Miseducation of Lil' Kim" is not bad, he wished that it was Lauryn Hill who was making a comeback instead.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gresehover|first=Ehren|title=2.

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