Lil’ Kim album Notorious K.I.M.

Lil’ Kim
album : Notorious K.I.M.
Release Date: June 27, 2000
Label: Atlantic

Review :

The Brooklyn MC, Lil Kim, is probably the most highly popularised female rapper in the entire history of the game. Award shows scoop her up every year for sex appeal, her records sell millions, she’s been in movies, on TV shows, on the cover of hundreds of magazines, was on the most successful hip hop tour of all time and now owns her own record label. Is there anything she can’t do? With the release of "The Notorious KIM" (titled dedicated to her deceased lover The Notorious BIG), her first album in four years, Kim finally gives her audience the material they’ve been craving.

The album starts off with “Lil Drummer Boy” a court room track, that guests both Redman and Cee-Lo of the Goodie Mobb. Good opener? Not hardly. The track is extremely corny, but in its defence (no pun intended) it does show Kim’s highly matured flow and lyrics. Next up is “Custom Made” which samples a woman’s orgasm while Kim gets sexual on a pointless track. She has a hard time concentrating on a single subject, so basically its just a lot of sexual tension built up over the years spewing out onto one track. “Whos Number One?” is a hot track which features Kim over a beat the EPMD could have used in ‘92. Her conceitedness is evident as she raps about her numerous triumphs in the industry. The overly explicit “Suck My Dick” features Kim at her best. A track that would have been welcomed on her first freak fest, "Hard Core", Kim gets more sexual then ever.

“Single Black Female” with Mario “Yellowman” Winans, is basically the plot to the movie Single White Female. The track, which is rumoured to be dissing former B.I.G. mistress Charli Baltimore, is done excellently over a nice mellow beat with Kim’s sassy voice and Winans’ soulful crooning. Grace Jones (COMPLETELY OUT OF PLACE) shows up on “Revolution” lending a reggae chorus while Kim, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil’ Cease and P. Diddy re-enact a mafia type set up. Surprisingly enough all four of the people on this song can pull it off and the tracks definitely a keeper. Up next is the album’s second single, “How Many Licks” where Kim teams up with then-popular-now-has-been singer Sisqo, on a track that’s basically is self-explanatory by the title. My opinion is, if it was left off the album, it wouldn’t have been missed all that much.

She tears apart her 19-year old rival, Foxy Brown and B.I.G. “impersonator” Shyne on the album’s second best song, the infamous title track. The first dance-hall influenced single “No Matter what People Say” is amazing and “She Don’t Love You” could have been major single potential if it wasn’t so sexy. “Queen Bitch Pt. 2” could have been done without, and the same could be said for “Do What You Like”, “Aunt Dot” and “Hold On” a B.I.G. tribute featuring Mary J. Blige. She gets very hip-pop on “Don’t Mess with Me”, “Right Now” and easily the album’s best track, the techno influenced “I’m Human”, which if released, probably could have pushed the sales of this album (1.7 million) way over the 10 million sales mark.

She makes a lot of rookie mistakes, even though this is her second coming, and without B.I.G around she is allowed to do to much on her own which isn’t a good thing. Lets just hope the maturity continues and that her third offering is better then both "Hard Core" and "Notorious K.I.M." combined.

Track Listing :

1. Lil’ Drummer Boy (w/ Redman & Cee-Lo)
2. Custom Made
3. Brooklyn
4. Suck My D!#k
5. Single Black Female (w/ Mario Winans)
6. Revolution (w/ Grace Jones, P. Diddy & Lil’ Cease)
7. How Many Licks (w/ Sisqo)
8. Notorious KIM
9. No Matter What They Say
10. She Don’t Love You
11. Queen B@#&h II (w/ Puff Daddy)
12. Don’t Mess With Me
13. Do What You Like (w/ Junior Mafia)
14. Off The Wall (w/ Lil’ Cease)
15. Right Now (w/ Carl Thomas)
16. Aunt Dot (w/ Lil’ Shanice)
17. Hold On (w/ Mary J. Blige)
18. I’m Human
19. Heat
20. Jazzy Jeff