Lil’ Kim is arguably the female emcee who paved the way for the likes of Nicki Minaj, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion and could even be considered the first commercially successful female rapper ever.
A true trendsetter, Lil’ Kim, with her sexually provocative lyrics and coloured hairstyles, set the blueprint for female rappers, with almost every female artist adopting the Lil’ Kim approach today. Whether it’s their look, lyrical content or fashion sense, you can see the influence permeating modern female rap.
Not only was Lil’ Kim a solo artist, but she was also part of the Junior MAFIA collective. This was a launch pad for Kim, as she was suddenly thrust into the limelight with the success of the group’s song ‘Player’s Anthem’, which landed at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became certified gold by the RIAA.
That said, as the first lady of Bad Boy, the emcee (real name Kimberley Jones) had a close relationship with Biggie Smalls and knew him personally. As such in an interview with DJ Whoo Kid on Shade 45’s ‘The Whoolywood Shuffle’, the ‘Crush On You’ rhymer revealed some of her favourite Biggie tracks.
Carefully thinking before answering, Jones stated, “My personal faves are ‘Warning,’ ‘Dead Wrong,’ ‘Who Shot Ya,’ ‘Hypnotize,’ ‘Kick in the Door.’” However, she also gave an honourable mention to the 1997 single ‘Mo Money, Mo Problems’ featuring Diddy and Ma$e.
Explaining why she loves it, Jones detailed, “I love ‘Mo Money, Money Problems’ because I like his verse on there a lot. I was there during the process of recording that record because they used to play that record over and over. It was my favourite record for a long time. I go back to old records like ‘Machine Gun Funk’ and the record he did with Jay-Z. I love the record he did with Method Man ‘The What.'”
You can see Lil’ Kim’s favourite Biggie Smalls songs ever below.
Lil’ Kim’s five favourite Biggie songs:
- Warning
- Dead Wrong
- Who Shot Ya
- Hypnotize
- Kick in the Door
