- Title: USA: SECOND SOLO ALBUM AND VIDEO FROM POP SINGER "LIL' KIM"
- Date: 29th June 2000
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) SMV (SOUNDBITE) (English) EMIL WILBEKIN, VIBE MAGAZINE EDITOR IN CHIEF, SPEAKING ABOUT THE SEXY ISSUE HE DESIGNED TO FEATURE LIL' KIM, SAYING: "The thing about me that's really interesting is that I am the only person that's been at Vibe since the very beginning and I've edited almost every section and edited almonst ever
- Embargoed: 14th July 2000 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Entertainment,General
- Reuters ID: LVA3FERXE7IUCB81P7ERVFO9G8M
- Story Text: The highly anticipated second solo album from Lil' Kim features guest appearances from Grace Jones, Lil' Cease, Redman, Method Man, Carl Thomas, and Grammy Award winner Mary J. Blige. In spite of the many guest artists and a four year absence, Lil' Kim turns up the heat on her image and her lyrics on "The Notorious K.I.M., neatly avoiding the dreaded sophomore jinx.
Lil' Kim was introduced into the world via her inclusion in the hip-hop collective known as Junior M.A.F.I.A.
The group's debut album, "Conspiracy", entered the top ten of the Billboard 200 charts in September 1995 after which the proteges of slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. opened his North American tour buoyed by their record-selling singles, "Player's Anthem" and "Get Money".
Under Biggie's direction and the production wizardry of Sean "Puffy" Combs, Lil' Kim released her solo CD "Hard Core"
which went platinum and introduced the world to the raw, sex-charged, braggadocious lyrics and delivery heretofore reserved for popular male rappers like Biggie Smalls, Method man, and Ice Cube.
Kimberly Jones more or less invented the "bitch" persona for female rappers long before Missy Elliot further defined it with her 1998 single "She's A Bitch".
Detractors of her style in the wake of fellow lyrical originals Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill have called Lil' Kim's music everything from trashy to nasty, some going even further to say that the "Queen Bee" is detrimental to self-respecting female rappers when she exhalts the raunchy, playgirl image and lifestyle.
"There are a lot of artists that are doing exactly what I've done and I get lashed for it I guess because I started it, " Kim explains.
"Like you said there's other things that's going on that want to make you go out and do your thing, so why should I always be downed for it...but I think with my new image now, I think it's...I think people are starting to understand where I was taking the sex thing."
Where she's taken the sex thing is to the cover of Vibe Magazine, a leading publication for followers of hip-hop, urban, and world music cultures. Editor-in-Chief Emil Wilbekin sought to build an issue around sexy vibes with Lil'Kim as the centerpiece. The longtime friends exchanged ideas and logistics, hiring famed photographer David LaChapelle to capture the bold, sometimes eyepopping shots.
Wilbekin, who has served in literally every position vital to the magazine over his years, cites the "mile a minute" pace of popular culture as partial inspiration for his work as fahion designer on the photo sessions.
"Hip-hop and urban culture right now is very much about fashions and visuals...everything in the world is. It's very cutting edge right now," he says.
"To be able to do something that's really different and really striking and really strong, it's a great thing."
Fans who have been lamenting her four year absence have scooped up the June issue of Vibe while many in Florida turned out for a recent performance by Lil' Kim and the Junior M.A.F.I.A. at the Disney Treausre Island 200 theme park.
The show mixed crowd favorites with some cuts from the new CD, which Kim says is "way different" from the current styles.
"I think my fans are going to be really proud of me because they're gonna know that like Lil' Kim writes her own lyrics and she comes up with her own creative styles."
At first glance, the combination of R & B singers Mary J. Blige and Carl Thomas, rappers Method Man, Redman, Cee-Lo, and the ever quirky Grace Jones doesn't sound appetizing, but it wouldn't be the first time that Lil' Kim has done something different by pushing the envelope.
"I'm a trendsetter so I don't like to follow everything that's going on, I like to go another way, but also to have it come off great, so my music is so different to what's going on right now..."
Lil' Kim is currently on a publicity tour leading up to a full schedule of dates that should take her across North America and Europe by 2001.
"The Notorious K.I.M. is currently available on Queen Bee/Undeas/Atlantic Records. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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