The one reason Lil Kim missed out on a million-dollar feature
Lil Kim was one of the legendary female rappers of the 1990s. Alongside Missy Elliot, Queen Latifah, and Foxy Brown, the Brooklyn lyricist changed the landscape of women in hip-hop and, with Diddy’s help, became an icon.
Lil Kim and Diddy (known as Puff Daddy in the 1990s) were inseparable and, together, became a power duo. During the height of Bad Boy, Lil Kim joined Junior M.A.F.I.A, a supergroup formed by Biggie Smalls and Diddy, and since then, she has become a legend. However, the ‘Crush On You’ rhymer missed out on a million-dollar feature after following some flawed advice from her friend Diddy.
The two New York icons were friends, and although Diddy never signed Lil’ Kim to Bad Boy Records, he was instrumental in launching her career and gave her solid advice, which helped her become a star. However, some guidance he gave her in 1999 turned out to be quite unhelpful, and she has since revealed that she regrets following advice regarding Sisqó’s ‘Thong Song.’
During an appearance on RapFix Live, Lil Kim explained how close the two were and explained that he was effectively the driver behind her career, detailing, “A long time ago, when I was with Puffy — ’cause Puffy managed me, but he also was basically the label. Puffy was my everything — everybody knows that. He did mostly everything for me.”
That said, although as a solo artist, she was signed to Atlantic, she regularly went to Diddy for tips. However, when a record executive approached her about a potential hit, the Press Play creator’s judgement was way off.
Opening up about the industry figure who she got close to at Atlantic, Kim unveiled, “But a long time ago, [record executive] Lyor [Cohen], and I love Lyor; he was always somebody I looked up to. [He] used to run Def Jam, and he also came to my label Atlantic later on, so that’s how we got closer.”
During her time at Atlantic, Cohen called her to be on Sisqo’s ‘Thong Song,’ but Diddy suggested that she play hard to get with Cohen. Unfortunately, if she hadn’t, she would’ve been featured on the hit song if she hadn’t taken the producer’s advice.
In order to play hard to get, Lil Kim tried to push Cohen into giving her clearance for a song he had already rejected as a single. Still, this tactic just led Cohen to release ‘Thong Song’ without Kim. Recalling this, Lil Kim told RapFix Live, “The ‘Thong Song’ wasn’t out yet, and I was like, ‘OK, I’ll do it, [if you give me clearance’ [for Cease’s song]. He was like, ‘No!'”
The song entered the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and was a smash hit across the world. It would have boosted Lil Kim’s career in an unfathomable way. However, her decision to follow Diddy’s advice left her without a feature.