Before Nicki Minaj, Lil’ Kim was the undisputed Queen of female rap; it was earned and rightly so! Kim changed the game for females, coining outrageous outfits, salacious lyrics and bigger egos than the boys. Kimmy was linked to Jay-Z, Diddy, Keyshia Cole, Mary J. Blige, The Notorious B.I.G and all the “greats” before Nicki Minaj even had a deal.
The last bit of good music we heard from Kimberely Jones was on La Bella Mafia (even though The Naked Truth was her most recent album)when she teamed up with Mr. Cheeks for “Jumpoff” and 50 Cent on “Magic Stick;” both songs climbed the Billboard Charts and the album received 4.5 Mics from The Source. Kim served some time in jail for perjury/not-snitching on her Brooklyn crew but once released from her “stint” it seemed like her music had taken a backseat.
Who was once The Notorious K.I.M is now Kimmy Blanco on her latest bid to the rap game– Black Friday. While I expected to pop in the disk and hear back to back diss tracks to Nicki Minaj, I was greeted by an intro from Coming To America’s “Queen To Be” scene. It was fresh, pretty unexpected;and the beat very hip hop like. Wiz Khalifa joins Blanco on “Champagne Poppin,” for a decent club anthem. Black Friday fails to deliver much originality; Kim raps over popular beats like Lil’ Wayne’s “6’7” and hood favorite “Hustle Hard.” While Black Friday isn’t a great Mixtape it is better than what I was expecting. Kim’s new flow/voice is much higher than her much loved raspy-raw Junior Mafia flow we are used to–which to me is her biggest downfall. Towards the end of the 20 tracks lies my favorite song “Grindin’ Makin’ Money” coincidentally where Nicki Minaj and Baby make an appearance on the long-awaited release. Kimmy even impressively sings(auto-tunes) her way through Keri Hilson’s “Pretty Girl Rock.” The title track “Black Friday” isn’t Kim’s best work and doesn’t match up to the intensity of “Roman’s Revenge.” “Pissin’ On Em” was simply terrible and should be struck from the record; it sounded more like a Saturday Night Live sketch rather than a remake.
With consistency Kim can rise back to the top, but it’s going to take better songs to get her there. She hasn’t lost all of her luster though…this should be the beginning of a long walk down the comeback road; but Kim has to let go of the Nicki Minaj beef because it just makes her look desperate! Kim– scrap the chipmunk voice and invest in nasal spray!
Mixtape Highlights:
(Rated 1-5)
“Gimmie Brain” 3.5 for signature Lil’ Kim raunchy lyrics
“Grindin’ Makin’ Money” 4 for good lyrical content
“Kimmy Girl Rock” 3 for good vocals
Favorite Lines:
“He put his face in between my legs and washed his face!”-“Gimmie Brain”
“Who the f*ck want war? Fed-Ex beef straight to your front door!”-“Black Friday”
“I snitched in the Louis store, yeah I dropped a dime”- “Grindin’ Makin’ Money”
Overall Rating…2.5
Skip the Exclusive Radio Interview, it was unneeded and just out of place!
Click here, for the track-listing.
Lil Kim Remakes Rihanna’s “Man Down” [AUDIO]
Here Is Your Lil’ Kim Black Friday Mixtape & Ustream Interview [PHOTO]
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