You knew too much, the relationship grew too much.
You knew about the crack vials, means to be trialed,
Where I hid dough under the bathroom tile.
Waited for a while, thought you would be the right thing -
Then things got frightening.
Aaliyah attends the '99 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA's) honoring the best music videos from June 13, 1998, to June 11, 1999. The show was hosted by Chris Rock at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City
For the PRESHOW, Aaliyah mentions that she is wearing an outfit by designer Gianfranco Ferré, and in a few red carpet interviews she would mention that she was highly interested in running Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and somewhere along the way during the event, WWF (now known as WWE) would interview her and she would disclose that her favorite wrestler was Mick Foley's character, 'ManKind'.
Sadly, Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody" would lose to Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop" and Madonna's "Beautiful Strangers".
Highlights of the show included Diana Ross jiggling Lil' Kim's exposed breast and The mothers of slain rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., Afeni Shakur and Voletta Wallace, came together to present the Best Rap Video Award.
Kimberly Denise Jones (July 11, 1974) known as Lil’ Kim, is a rapper. She was born and raised in New York City. She would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage. She was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the US and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Her debut studio album Hard Core (1996) was certified double platinum in March 2001. It has sold more than six million copies worldwide and spawned three successful singles: “No Time,” “Not Tonight (Ladies Night),” and “Crush on You.” Hard Core had the highest debut in the US for a female rap album at the time. Her following albums, The Notorious K.I.M. (2000) and La Bella Mafia (2003) were certified platinum. She reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with the single “Lady Marmalade”. Other notable singles from this period include “The Jump Off” and “Magic Stick,” the latter of which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her 2nd-highest-charting single as a lead artist.
She served a one-year prison sentence for lying to a jury about her friends’ involvement in a shooting. During her incarceration, her fourth album, The Naked Truth, was released to positive reviews from critics. A reality series covering her sentence, Lil’ Kim: Countdown to Lockdown, premiered on BET. She released her first mixtape, Ms. G.O.A.T. (2008), and appeared on Dancing with the Stars. She continued to release music and perform. Her fifth studio album, 9, was released in 2019.
She has been referred to as the “Queen of Rap,” as well as her alias “Queen Bee”. She has sold more than 15 million albums and 30 million singles worldwide. Her songs “No Time,” “Big Momma Thang,” and “Not Tonight (Ladies Night)” were each listed on Complex’s list of the 50 Best Rap Songs By Women. She was listed on VH1’s 100 Greatest Women in Music list at #45, the second-highest position for a solo female hip-hop artist. She has one daughter. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence