1. Lil' Kim was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home.
77 Facts About Lil' Kim
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In 2001, Lil' Kim reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 with the single "Lady Marmalade", alongside Christina Aguilera, Mya, and Pink.
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In 2005, Lil' Kim served a one-year prison sentence for lying to a jury about her friends' involvement in a shooting four years earlier.
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Lil' Kim has been referred to as the "Queen of Rap", as well as her alias "Queen Bee" by several media outlets.
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Lil' Kim has sold more than 15 million albums and 30 million singles worldwide.
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Lil' Kim has been noted for helping women embrace their "sexuality and femininity" in a way that was a stark contrast at the time from other female artists.
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Jones, who had adopted the stage name Lil' Kim, was a member of the group.
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Lil' Kim became the first female rapper to have three consecutive number ones on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart.
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In 1997, Lil' Kim promoted Hard Core by performing on P Diddy's "No Way Out" tour.
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In 1999, for a denim campaign fashion shoot, Lil' Kim debuted "Money Nails" designed by nail artist Bernadette Thompson.
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In 2001, Lil' Kim teamed up with Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Mya to remake "Lady Marmalade", which was originally written about a bordello in New Orleans and performed by the group Labelle 25 years earlier.
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In 2002, Lil' Kim recorded a new entrance theme for then World Wrestling Entertainment Women's Champion Trish Stratus entitled "Time to Rock 'n Roll", which was used during broadcasts, until Stratus's retirement.
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Lil' Kim released the song "What's The Word" in mid-2002.
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On March 4,2003, Lil' Kim released her third studio album, La Bella Mafia.
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Lil' Kim promoted the album with a string of concerts, which featured DMX and Nas.
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Lil' Kim was nominated for five Source Awards and won two.
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Lil' Kim was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with singer Christina Aguilera for the song "Can't Hold Us Down", from Aguilera's album Stripped.
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Lil' Kim made an appearance on the multi-platform videogame Def Jam: Fight for NY.
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In 2004, Lil' Kim recorded a cover of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" which was used as the opening theme for Victoria Gotti's reality series Growing Up Gotti.
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That same year, Lil' Kim was featured on the remix of "Naughty Girl" by Beyonce.
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In December 2004, Lil' Kim began recording a pilot for a VH1 reality show titled 718 Makeover.
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Lil' Kim released her fourth album, The Naked Truth, on September 27,2005, while serving a federal prison sentence.
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Lil' Kim said that her prison sentence left her with no time to promote the project.
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In May 2006, Debbie Harry released a song in tribute to Lil' Kim called "Dirty and Deep" in protest of her conviction.
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Lil' Kim made appearances on the show The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll and Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious in 2007 and 2008 as a judge.
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In January 2008, Lil' Kim announced that she had parted ways with Atlantic Records, choosing to release future projects independently.
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Lil' Kim stated she had no hard feelings toward Atlantic, but felt comfortable enough with her knowledge of the music business to do it alone.
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On March 10,2009, the song "Girls" by Korean singer Seven featuring Lil' Kim was released through digital stores as his US debut single.
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Lil' Kim appeared in the music video that was released on the same day.
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Lil' Kim appeared on the eighth season of reality series Dancing with the Stars, which began airing on March 9,2009.
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Lil' Kim's elimination was met by many boos from the audience, as she was a consistent high-scorer and fan favorite.
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In June 2010, Lil' Kim started her 2010 Tour, her first headlining tour since 2000.
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Lil' Kim released her second mixtape, Black Friday, on February 14,2011.
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In May 2011, Lil' Kim performed in South Africa as part of the music festival ZarFest alongside Fat Joe, Timbaland, and Ciara.
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On June 19,2011, Lil' Kim performed alongside G-Unit member Shawty Lo and hinted a possible working relationship with G-Unit Records.
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Lil' Kim announced that she would release an EP, but it was later shelved for unknown reasons.
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Lil' Kim had previously been under a restriction banning her from releasing new material as a result of her settlement with Trackmasters, but it had now been lifted.
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On Valentine's Day 2012, Lil' Kim released the song "If You Love Me" produced by Prince Saheb of Knockout Entertainment as a gift to her fans.
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Lil' Kim kicked off her Return of the Queen Tour on May 17,2012, to positive reviews.
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On July 11,2013, Lil' Kim released the Rockwilder-produced single "Looks Like Money" as a free download for her fans on her birthday.
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On July 26,2013, Lil' Kim announced and released the cover art for a new mixtape, Hard Core 2K13, which would serve as a sequel to her critically acclaimed debut album, Hard Core.
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In 2016, her fourth mixtape Lil Lil' Kim Season was released.
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In February 2017, Lil' Kim announced via her Instagram and an interview that she was working on a new album.
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On July 11,2018, Lil' Kim released the single "Nasty One" from her highly anticipated album, but ultimately the track was not included on the album.
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That same month, Kim was spotted in Barbados with fellow hip hop stars Mya and Chilli, friends Char DeFrancesco and Tiffany, as well as MTV personalities Pretty Vee and B Simone from MTV's Wild 'n Out.
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Lil' Kim shared that her co-star, the Instagram comedian Vena "Pretty Vee" Excell, would appear on the record.
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In October 2019, Lil' Kim revealed that she would collaborate with Missy Elliott and Paris Hilton on the follow-up to 9.
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Lil' Kim stated that she would "love" to have Pretty Vee host her tour.
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Lil' Kim cited as her rap influences MC Lyte, Salt-N-Pepa and Roxanne Shante.
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Lil' Kim became the first and only rapper to endorse the brand to date.
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In 2000, Lil' Kim signed a deal with fashion house Iceberg, and with cosmetics brand MAC to help endorse their VIVA GLAM line of lipsticks and lip glosses alongside Mary J Blige.
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Lil' Kim lent her voice to the video game Def Jam: Fight for NY, in which she was featured.
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Lil' Kim took part in MAC's Fashion Cares show in Toronto, Canada, raising close to one million for its AIDS committee.
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That same month, Lil' Kim performed at Breathe, a benefit concert for breast cancer research and treatment.
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On March 12,2002, Lil' Kim walked her dogs in the 3rd annual "Paws for Style" fashion show.
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In 2007 Lil' Kim was a part of the 4th Annual Grammy Charity Holiday Auction, featuring a large variety of celebrity-signed memorabilia that people could bid on through eBay.
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On December 1,2007, Lil' Kim partnered with Preserve Our Legacy and the New Jersey Stem Cell Research and Education Foundation to host a celebrity basketball game to raise awareness about various health issues plaguing minority communities.
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Lil' Kim focused on starting her rap career and called off the engagement with Powell.
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Lil' Kim did not make it public until 1999 during an interview with The Source.
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On March 17,2005, Lil' Kim was convicted of three counts of conspiracy and one count of perjury for lying to a federal grand jury about her and her friends' involvement in a 2001 shooting outside the Hot 97 studios in Manhattan.
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In July 2005, Lil' Kim was sentenced to one year in prison, thirty days' home detention upon release from custody, and three years of probation.
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Lil' Kim served the entirety of her sentence at the Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia in Center City, Philadelphia.
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Lil' Kim was released on July 3,2006, after serving approximately 12 months.
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Lil' Kim was in a relationship with Royal's father, Jeremy Neil, who goes by the rap name Mr Papers from 2012 to 2014, and then again from 2020 through at least part of 2021.
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Lil' Kim has called her his "wife" before although they have never been legally married.
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In March 2005, Lil' Kim was convicted of lying about the shooting to a federal grand jury.
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On May 17,2012, Lil' Kim gave an interview to a radio show, The Breakfast Club.
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Lil' Kim has been embroiled in a feud with rapper Nicki Minaj since Minaj's success with Pink Friday.
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Lil' Kim reignited the feud following the release of her mixtape Black Friday, an album that directly referenced Nicki Minaj, via her debut album title and freestyling on Minaj's songs such as "Did It On'em".
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In 2021, Lil' Kim stated on the red carpet of the BET Awards that she would like to do a Verzuz with Minaj.
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Lil' Kim reversed this notion, announcing her arrival to hip hop with a provocative promo poster that saw her clad in a leopard print bikini and matching feather-trimmed robe.
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Lil' Kim has been named as a fashion icon by various media outlets.
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Actress Taraji P Henson said that Lil' Kim inspired her portrayal of Empire character Cookie Lyon.
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Lil' Kim was ranked as one of the top 50 greatest MCs of all time in Kool Moe Dee's 2003 book, There's a God on the Mic.
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In 2012, Lil' Kim was honorably listed on VH1's "100 Greatest Women In Music" at number 45, placing her in the fourth highest position for a female rapper.
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In June 2018, Lil' Kim was honored with a proclamation by the New York City Council's Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus as part of the annual African-American Music Appreciation Month for her contributions to hip-hop.
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In 2019, Lil' Kim was honored by BET Hip Hop Awards with the I Am Hip Hop Award.