Credit: Michael Antonio

As one of the pioneering female MCs to come out of the boom of the 1990s hip-hop scene, Lil Kim is rightly regarded as a legend in the game. Her abilities on the mic may have gained her a foothold in the arena, but it was this skill, coupled with her attitude and unwillingness to lose her space, that gave her the impressively long career she now has under her control.

Perhaps the most inspiring part of Kim’s rise to the top is that she completed it, rung by rung, with very little direction and almost no blueprint for how to achieve it. When looking at her male counterparts, Biggie Smalls and Nas, the two icons had countless New York rappers to aspire to be. The entire hip-hop world was confined to the US city for some time, and this offers young artists a clear pathway forward. However, for a female MC, the opportunities were limited.

Nevertheless, Lil Kim would find her way to the top, becoming the blueprint for a new generation of performers like Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B who are all widely influenced by the Brooklyn native. But while there aren’t hundreds of female rappers for Kim to cite as influences, three MCs would inspire her to become the well-rounded phenom she would soon be.

It’s hard to listen to Lil kim without hearing the influence of MC Lyte. Her 1988 album Lyte as A Rock would showcase her skills as one of the best rappers around and help to break the ground Lil Kim would soon flourish in. When speaking with Talib Kweli in 2020, Kim called her “my favourite literally” opened up about her influence: “MC was from Brooklyn, so I knew that me and her style was exactly the same,” notes the rapper liekning the two performers’ voices.

But it wasn’t just her “style” it was also about “how she moved with the fellas.” For Kim, who spent most of her time as a child with groups of boys as “the only girl,” a female rapper who could not only hang with the men but out-rap most of them was a huge inspiration. “I was like, dang, she really me,” explained Kim.

Another huge influence was the rap duo Salt-N-Pepa. The powerhouse couple transformed rap music into a female-forward entity, changing the angle of perspective and putting women in the genre under the spotlight. While the duo made sure women were perceived as more than music video dressing, they were also not afraid to bear their sexuality with gritted teeth, something that connected with Kim.

“Salt-N-Pepa had everything I wanted. I was sexy, but I also had a rough edge,” explains Kim, labelling the duo as one of the foundational groups in her childhood. As the conversation goes on, Kim explains that Pepa, in particular, embodies the attitude she wanted to bring to her own music.

The final addition to Kim’s list of extraordinary female rappers is the little-known Roxanne Shanté, who the Brooklynite describes as “my motivation for rapping in even a little of my style,” later claiming “she don’t get enough credit. She was the first to come in off the streets.”

All three sets of MCs are undoubtedly connected to Kim’s growth as an artist and whether it be style, sexiness or attitude, a little piece of all of them can be found in Lil Kim.

Lil Kim’s three favourite female rappers:

• MC Lyte
• Salt-N-Pepa
• Roxanne Shanté