Happy birthday to our May 1997 cover star, LilKim!
In honor of Lil' Kim's birthday today, we're saluting the Queen Bee by re-posting our May 1997 cover story on the rapper by bell hooks. The interview, which happened seven months after the release of Kim's breakout LP, focuses on the double standards that female celebrities embracing their sexuality endure. It doesn't feel like much has changed, either — nearly 20 years later, the questions in this could still be posed to most overtly sexual female performers today.
More dangerous than any words that come out of Lil' Kim's mouth are the forces of repressive puritanical morality that seek to silence her. Before talking to Kim, I spoke with lots of so-called cool folks who were putting her down, calling her a"ho...nothing but a prostitute." Even the dudes who are into her gig — fans of her debut album, Hardcore , and her work with Junior M.A.F.I.A — still see her as another version of"pussy galore": a freak for their pleasure.
LK: O.K., we all had a lot to do with my career; we all have our input. I would say that it was me who just started it, because I would have to do it and feel comfortable, you know what I mean? You can't really just make someone into something and it works all the time; that person has to be a natural.
bh: A lot of people are talking about you as an example of sexy feminism, as a liberated woman. What do you think? Do you think you represent the liberated woman or the sexy girl of men's fantasies? LK: And sometimes it's not just exchanging; sometimes it's just having a sexual orgasm 'cause you love it and you need it.LK: Yeah, I think they're two different things.bh: See to me, one empowers a woman when she can say,"I want it and I'm having it for my pleasure." The other one, when you're having it for something else, that's not about power to me. But tell me why you might think it is.
bh: What do you say to those feminists who would say,"But look at how porn encourages men to hate women, etc., etc."? LK: I do. When I went out on the street, I was having problems with my boyfriend. I mean, guys used to tell me I wasn't shit, I always gotta rely on them, like,"You ain't shit without me. You always goin' to need me." Till this day I need that person, so they say,"You need me. You can't fucking make it without me. You're ugly." You know what I'm saying?"You ain't all that," bababa.
bh: Let's get to the"Lil'" thing, because a lot of men are just gonna groove on you because they're not gonna see that you're a mature woman; they're gonna think of you as this little girl. But what about when you want the world to see the mature woman that you are?
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