Lil Kim is a style icon. It's time she got her due.

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 6 December 2022

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Think of the top women rappers of our time: Cardi B. Megan Thee Stallion. Nicki Minaj. They all showcase a signature style that involves multicolored wigs, skyscraping heels and designer logos on everything. But that blend of high fashion, femininity and attitude began before any of them, pioneered in the 1990s by the original queen bee: Lil' Kim. Ahead of its time, Kim's ingenuity – and her place in the fusion of fashion and hip-hop – has not always been recognized. Host Brittany Luse and fashion journalist Scarlett Newman make the case for why it's time Lil' Kim gets the credit she deserves.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey y'all, you're listening to It's Been a Minute From NPR.
0:04.3	I'm Brittany Luce.
0:05.1	Today on the show, we want to celebrate a beloved icon who we think deserves way more credit
0:12.8	than she's been given.
0:14.5	She's a goddess of fashion, a style muse, a mother of the rap game, and the original
0:20.7	Queen Bee.
0:21.7	Lil' Kim.
0:22.7	I mean, she really set the stage for self-presentation and female rap.
0:36.0	Scarlet Newman is a fashion and culture writer and someone I'm happy to call a friend.
0:41.4	She's also a big fan of Lil' Kim.
0:44.1	How would you characterize Kim's long-lasting fashion legacy?
0:47.9	Mystic, unapologetic, wrote the playbook.
0:52.4	She influenced a generation of young girls to high fashion brands.
0:57.6	You know, that is a fashion icon.
1:01.0	If you think about the biggest women rappers of our time, Cardi B, Megan Missalion, Nicki
1:05.8	Minaj, their style, that mix of attitude and high fashion, the multi-colored wigs, sky-scraping
1:12.6	heels, the logos, everywhere, that all started with Lil' Kim.
1:18.2	Could you tell me about like your earliest memory of Lil' Kim?
1:22.6	It's gotta be that asymmetric VMA lavender bodysuit with the pasty.
1:29.3	I mean, it was 1999, I believe, so that would be about nine years old.
1:33.9	I remember watching her going on stage.
1:36.1	I've always wanted to give props to some of the amazing, the most amazing female artists
	...

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