Lil' Kim is a US rapper from Bedford–Stuyvesant, New York, known for east coast hip hop, gangsta rap, hardcore hip hop, hip hop and pop rap. Born Kimberly Denise Jones, she also works as a reality television personality.

Early life and beginnings

She grows up in Brooklyn and spends much of her adolescence living on the streets after being expelled from home. As a teenager, she freestyles rap and is influenced by female hip hop artists including MC Lyte and The Lady of Rage.

Junior M.A.F.I.A. and breakthrough

In 1994, the Notorious B.I.G. discovers her and invites her to join Junior M.A.F.I.A. The group’s debut album, Conspiracy, produces two US top 20 singles and is certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Solo career

Her debut studio album, Hard Core (1996), is certified double platinum, sells more than six million copies worldwide and yields the singles “No Time”, “Not Tonight” and “Crush on You”. It has the highest US debut for a female rap album at the time. Her next albums, The Notorious K.I.M. (2000) and La Bella Mafia (2003), are both certified platinum.

In 2001, she reaches number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 with “Lady Marmalade”, a collaboration with Mýa, P!nk and Christina Aguilera from the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack. Other notable singles from this period include “The Jump Off” and “Magic Stick”, which reaches number two on the Billboard Hot 100 as her second-highest-charting single as a lead artist.

Later work and public profile

In 2005, she serves a one-year prison sentence after lying to a jury about her friends’ involvement in a shooting four years earlier. During that period, her fourth album, The Naked Truth, is released and receives positive reviews. A reality series about her sentence, Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown, premieres on BET in 2006. She releases her first mixtape, Ms. G.O.A.T., in 2008 and appears on Dancing with the Stars in 2009.

During the 2010s, she continues to release music and perform sporadically, working with artists including Faith Evans, Remy Ma and Fabolous. Her fifth studio album, 9, is released in 2019.

Recognition and influence

She is widely referred to as the “Queen of Rap” and also uses the nickname “Queen Bee”. Her songs “No Time”, “Big Momma Thang” and “Not Tonight” appear on Complex’s list of the 50 Best Rap Songs By Women. In 2012, VH1 places her at number 45 on its 100 Greatest Women in Music list, the second-highest position for a solo female hip-hop artist.

Beyond music, she is known for a risk-taking, luxurious approach to fashion and is cited as a fashion icon. She is also noted for helping women express sexuality and femininity in a way that differs sharply from many other female artists of her era.

Commercial performance

Across her career, she sells more than 15 million albums and 30 million singles worldwide.