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Lil' Kim Debuts New Track, 'Nasty One,' Talks Early Censorship & Everlasting Legacy
Wednesday (July 11) marks not only Lil’ Kim’s birthday, but also the release of her new single “Nasty One,” a fiery nod to her West Indian-meets-Brooklyn roots with the same level of seductive wordplay we’ve come to know and love from the Queen Bee over the past two decades. The track showcases both Kim’s lyricism and singing chops, the latter being something she’s tinkered with throughout her career, most notably on cuts including “No Matter What They Say” with Diddy and “Magic Stick” with 50 Cent.
In November, Kim will release her long-awaited fifth studio album, 22 years to the month that her solo debut, Hard Core, hit the streets. The new project is a return to form for the veteran MC, with some modifications. On-brand sexuality mixed with her signature street side are just two aspects of the legendary rapper’s persona that she’ll be exploring on this new project. There will also be some parlaying into uncharted territory, as evidenced on the "Nasty" single.
However, for Lil’ Kim fans, the new music only reinforces the archetypal presence that she's maintained since she donned her first colorful wig back in the mid-1990s. It’s a testament to Kim’s staying power and, for her, a constant recognition of the current hip-hop landscape. In her exclusive interview with Billboard, Kim discusses her early uphill climb to insert sexuality into rap, from being banned overseas to performing at Disney World.
Q: In listening to “Nasty One,” I can’t help but recall how many hurdles you had to jump over early on in your career to be this sexually free and expressive. Releasing this song, what does it mean to you, considering you’re the reason why women in hip-hop can even discuss these topics?
Kim: You know, it’s funny because I was on Instagram the other day and sometimes I go on my fans’ pages and go see what new stuff is out about me and whatever. Sometimes they post old stuff, and this one fan was posting video of a man in the UK showing my album when it came out and the Hard Core poster. He was doing it documentary-like [saying], “You guys need to never forget this girl was banned... Her music was banned, and now everyone—especially female rappers—is doing music just like her. You’re dressing like her, you’re singing like her, you’re talking like her. You guys need to always remember this woman that opened that door for you guys to be able to do that, because she broke down those barriers.”
And then there was another video right behind that of me being interviewed, and I was like, “You know when I first came out, I was so nervous because I was receiving so much negativity for me being sexually free. But it made me bigger.” It was so weird. I was nervous when I first came out like, did I do the wrong thing? Should I not have said this? Should I not have rapped like this or dressed like this? So for me now, to be able to go back to that, and it’s so accepted… I almost feel like I need to do something more, even bigger than that! So it’s comfortable and it’s cool for me to be able to do a song like “Nasty One.”
Click Here to read the full interview
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