Lil' Kim

A trailblazer for female MCs, Lil’ Kim redrew the boundaries of expression in ‘90s hip-hop with her unapologetic, sex-positive rhymes. Born Kimberly Jones in Brooklyn, New York in 1974 (or ‘75?), Kim began collaborating with fellow Bed-Stuy rapper The Notorious B.I.G. Debuting her boisterous Kings County cadence as part of Biggie’s Junior M.A.F.I.A. collective on the 1995 album Conspiracy Theory, her carnal verse on “Get Money” was a brazen harbinger of her lascivious 1996 solo debut, Hard Core. Whether out-raunching her male counterparts with her uninhibited sexuality, stressing the importance of female pleasure on “Not Tonight,” or requesting the indulgence of a who’s-who of R&B singers on “Dreams,” Hard Core indelibly revolutionised female rap. Her sophomore return, 2000’s rollicking The Notorious K.I.M., amped up the eroticism, boldly reversing the roles of sex rap objectification with “Suck My D**k” and the oral sex anthem “How Many Licks?” Kim placed nouveau riche opulence front and center on La Bella Mafia in 2003, while saving some salaciousness for the smash hit “Magic Stick.” She then pivoted to analyze the tribulations of fame and her impending jail sentence for perjury on the defiant Naked Truth in 2005. She returned in 2019 with 9, a bullish reflection on her trend-setting career in hip-hop and a potent contribution to a peerless legacy.