Lil' Kim

Lil' Kim, born Kimberly Denise Jones in Brooklyn, is an American rapper and songwriter who also modeled, known for sexually charged lyrics that influenced other women in hip-hop. She freestyled as a teenager before the Notorious B.I.G. discovered her in 1994 and brought her into his group Junior M.A.F.I.A., whose album Conspiracy went gold. Her 1996 debut, Hard Core, gave her the biggest opening by a female rapper up to then and went double platinum, and The Notorious K.I.M. followed in 2000. In 2001 she reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with Lady Marmalade, winning a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. La Bella Mafia (2003) went platinum behind The Jump Off and Magic Stick, while The Naked Truth (2005) drew positive reviews and a rare five mic rating from The Source. She issued the mixtape Ms. G.O.A.T. and the album 9, appeared on Dancing with the Stars and executive produced the VH1 show Girls Cruise.