The five musical inspirations that shaped Lil’ Kim
The number of female rappers has surged in recent years. From Cardi B to Megan Thee Stallion, Ice Spice, and GloRilla, the rise of “femcees” has been astonishing. However, many of the trailblazing women who paved the way for what we see today have been forgotten and omitted from history, nobody more so than Lil’ Kim.
The Queen of Brooklyn was a formidable force in the 1990s, but whether she is a legend today is most definitely up for debate. Her addiction to cosmetic surgery has left an unrecognisable individual. Consequentially, the first lady of Bad Boy that fans fell in love with has been unseen and unheard since the turn of the millennium.
However, despite the sense of detachment that is now ingrained in the minds of hip-hop fans, the ‘Crush On You’ lyricist is more present than ever and, unlike her counterparts, has decided to shift her focus away from lust and sex appeal, in order to focus on lyricism and music with meaning.
The 49-year-old, Grammy-award-winning lyricist has spoken to multiple publications since the release of her 2019 studio album 9, and as a new woman with a changed perspective, the icon has been reflecting on her past, speaking about what led her to hip-hop and, ultimately, what made her the woman she is today.
In a conversation with SohoHouse magazine, the Queen took fans back to her childhood in Brooklyn before she met Biggie Smalls and the now-disgraced founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, Diddy.
Lil’ Kim delved into the details of 1980s New York City, and its buzzing musical atmosphere, vividly recalling, “Growing up, I’d always attend block parties, and I loved how music brought everyone together. I would grab the mic and play around with the DJ set, and lyrics would just flow from my heart. That’s when I fell in love with rapping.”
The female emcee evidently had a love for rapping. However, it is an indisputable reality that during the early days of her career, Kim had no interest in lyricism, and the 1997 footage of her getting questioned on Oprah about her absurdly sexual rhymes is still a stain on her career.
However, while speaking about her early influences, the Queen listed some legends and fairly wholesome artists from who she inspiration, revealing how she loved “Salt-N-Pepa, Janet Jackson, Slick Rick, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, and so many more.”
Despite their differences in approach to music, the latter female artists she mentioned showed Lil’ Kim a great amount of love when she first arrived on the scene and, unlike today, women were united in hip-hop, and this led to songs like Lil’ Kim’s ‘Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)’ featuring Missy Elliott, Da Brat, Left Eye and Angie Martinez.
That said, Lil’ Kim asserted that Salt-N-Pepa, Janet Jackson, Slick Rick, Queen Latifah and MC Lyte were the artists that really shaped her before she touched a microphone.