Filed under: Music, Comparisons
From the looks of it, Lil' Kim and Nicki Minaj have a lot in common. The two pint-sized rappers, who both reside from The Big Apple, both made splashy impacts as soon as their music careers were launched. And although, at one point, they seemed to be bosom buddies, recent events have turned their verbal sparring into a hip hop battle royale.
As of late, the Grammy Award-winning hip-hop superstar has decided to take her beef with her should-be protege to wax. This is in response to Minaj's 'Roman's Revenge' duet with Eminem, which many believe to be a verbal thrashing on the self-proclaimed Queen Bitch. In true old-school rap fashion, Kim popped back with a searing diss track, titled 'Black Friday,' a dark reference to the newly-minted pop star's debut opus 'Pink Friday.'
They might be in the midst of an all-out, old-school rap war of words, but these two MCs are more alike than they'd like to admit. BlackVoices.com takes a look at the many similarities and few differences between Nicki Minaj and Lil Kim.
(LK ) Birthplace: Kimberly Denise Jones
(N.M.) Birthplace: Onika Tanya Maraj
(L.K.) Birthday: July 11
(N.M.) Birthday: December 8
(L.K.) Age: 34
(N.M.) Age: 25
(L.K.) Rap Posse/Group: Junior M.A.F.I.A.
(N.M.) Rap Posse/Group: Young Money
(L.K.) Note-worthy Cameos: 'Get Money' with Junior Mafia; 'Crush on You' with Lil' Cease; and 'Lady Marmalade' with Pink, Mya, Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliott, and Christina Aguilera
(N.M.) Note-worthy Cameos: 'Monster' with Kanye West, Jay-Z and Rick Ross; 'Bedrock' with Young Money; 'Bottoms Up' with Trey Songz
(L.K.) Endorsements: Three Olives Vodka, Mac Viva Glam III, Old Navy
(N.M.) Endorsements: Mac 'Pink Friday' lipstick
(L.K.) Superstar rap mentor: The Notorious B.I.G.
(N.M.) Superstar rap mentor: Lil' Wayne
(L.K.) Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
(N.M.) Hometown: Queens, New York
(L.K.) Rap alter ego: The Queen B (Bitch)
(N.M.) Rap alter ego: Barbie, Roman Polanski
(L.K.) Acting Out: Appeared in the films, 'Juwanna Mann' and 'She's All That'; judged the reality competition 'The Search For The Next Doll' and also competed on 'Dancing with the Stars.'
(N.M.) Acting Out: Attended LaGuardia High School in New York City, the school that inspired the movie and television show 'Fame.'
(L.K.) Unpaid Plugs For High End Fashion Designers: "I drop 30 or more in Christian Dior"
(N.M.) Unpaid Plugs For High End Fashion Designers: "Monster Guiseppi heel/ That's the Monster shoe."
(L.K.) Augmentations: Nose, cheeks, eyes and breasts
(N.M.) Augmentations: Buttocks and breasts
(L.K.) Nasty As She Wanna Be: On her debut 'Hard Core,' the self-proclaimed 'Queen B**ch' was the first female MC to boast and brag about her bedroom behavior in songs like 'Big Momma Thang' and with lyrics like "I used to be scared of the d**k/Now I throw lips to the s**t/handle it like a real b**ch."
(N.M.) Nasty As She Wanna Be: With half of her stage name being 'minaj' a reference to the French phrase 'Menage A Trois,' the Queens MC has never been shy about discussing threesomes and famously does so in Usher's hit song 'Little Freak' with lyrics like "I'm looking for a cutie/a real big ol' ghetto booty."
(L.K.) Raunchy Collaboration: 'Magic Stick' with 50 Cent
(N.M) Raunchy Collaboration: 'Little Freak' with Usher
(L.K.) Diddy Did It: Shortly after her mentor/lover Notorious B.I.G. died, Kim joined forces with Sean 'Diddy' Combs on the song 'Notorious' and in other business ventures. Diddy also made a splashy earlier appearance on Kim's 1996 hit song, 'No Time.'
(N.M.) Diddy Did It: Minaj enlisted Diddy and his former Bad Boy Records employee James Cruz to co-manage her career in the summer of 2010.
(L.K.) Blonde Ambition: In the video for 'Crush on You,' Kim was a chameleon rocking a different wig and outfit, including yellow, red, blue and green, in several of the video's scenes.
(N.M.) Blonde Ambition: Though her signature hair color is pink, Nicki loves to don two-tone weave pieces, particularly long blond wigs with pink tips.
(L.K.) Crazy for Jay-Z: Kim and Jay-Z got their start around the same time and collaborated on two songs - Jay-Z's 'I Know What Girls Like' and The Queen B's 'Big Momma Thang.' She even was rumored to be signing to his Roc Nation label in 2010, although those rumors have not been confirmed.
(N.M.) Crazy for Jay-Z: Nicki appeared on Kanye West's star-studded track, 'Monster' alongside Jay-Z and Rick Ross. He also brought her out to perform the song at his Yankee Stadium tour-stop with Eminem.
(L.K.) Mag Swag: She's appeared on virtually every hip-hop monthly, but at the height of her career, Lil' Kim was a fashion darling. Her most well-known fashion magazine spread was for 'Interview' magazine, where she appeared nude, and only wearing a leather Louis Vuitton skull cap. Her body was covered with the the luxury fashion brand's insignia and she was interviewed by designer Marc Jacobs.
(N.M) Mag Swag: On the heels of her debut album's release, she appeared on the covers of Vibe and Billboard magazines and made heads turn for a colorful outfit she wore on the over of 'Out' magazine.
(L.K.) Diva Duets: Collaborated with Mary J. Blige on 'I Can Love You,' and Grace Jones on 'Revolution'
(N.M.)Diva Duets: Collaborated with Mariah Carey on 'Up Outta My Face' and Rihanna on 'Fly'
(L.K.) Homage To The Past: Sampled Sylvester's 'Was It Something That I Said' for 'Big Momma Thang,' sampled George Benson's 'Turn Your Love Around' for 'Not Tonight' and sampled Shirley Murdock's 'The One I Need' for 'We Don't Need It.'
(N.M.) Homage To The Past: Sampled Annie Lennox's 'No More 'I Love You's' for 'Your Love' and sampled Prince's 'Darling Nicki' for 'Blow Your Mind'