Lil' Kim

Kimberly Denise Jones, better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and model. Referred to as the "Queen of Rap", Lil' Kim is known for her sexually charged lyrics and presence, which influenced women in contemporary hip-hop.

Biggie's protégé and Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s fiercest member, Lil' Kim emerged from mid-90s Brooklyn as the architectural opposite of everything rap's gatekeepers expected from women in the genre—sexually explicit without apology, fashion-forward to the point of provocation, and technically sharp enough to trade bars with anyone in Diddy's orbit. *Hard Core* (1996) announced her arrival with the kind of swagger that made her collaborations with Missy Elliott feel less like features and more like a coronation of East Coast female dominance, while her beef with Foxy Brown crystallized the era's most compelling rivalry.