It’s been quite some time since women have held some considerable weight in Rap. In the 80’s Salt N Pepa laid down the winning blue print for all female MC’s to follow. In the mid 90’s though, a new breed stepped in. Backed by the Notorious B.I.G., Lil’ Kim ushered in a more sexually provocative style. Her racy debut Hardcore would further cement the Hip-Hop harlot’s name in the history books. Since then the Queen Bee would see some severe ups and downs. Her said mentor would be slain in Los Angeles; an ugly split with her Junior Mafia crew would follow and she later served jail time all in the process. Now free as a bird Kim attempts to pay homage to those that came before her and reestablish her hood stripes all at once with her first official mixtape Ms. G.O.A.T. (Queen Bee).
Kim kicks things off with the title track “Ms. G.O.A.T.;” her rendition of MC Lyte’s “Cha Cha Cha.” While she doesn’t top the original classic, her playful old school flow does make this a suitable opener. She keeps the nostalgic vibes going with adaptations of Lady Of Rage’s “Afro Puffs” (“Rock On Wit Yo Bad Self”), Queen’s Latifah’s “Wrath Of Queen’s Madness” (“Wrath Of Kim’s Madness”) and Boss’ long forgotten smash “Deeper” (“Kim Get’s Deeper”). Kim should have stopped there with the remakes though. The Brooklyn royal sounds off on “Mis-Education Of Lil’ Kim.” She attempts to recreate Lauryn Hill’s magic on the “Lost Ones” beat, but the listener gets nothing more than a lackluster performance all sprinkled with a fugazi West Indian accent.
Fans will be at ease to know that Big Momma sounds more at home on her newer material. She validates her love for her significant other on “Chillin’ Tonite.” The Black Erica Kane blesses the track, explaining how their explicit intimacy keeps her quite busy at the crib: “I poured the Henny / All over his Jimmy / So when he stick it in me / He drunk off of Kimmy.” As with any major mixtape, you can expect some beef to either be started or addressed. This one is no different with some pretty obvious shots at Remy Ma on “I Get It.” Flowing over “I Get Money,” Kim throws some quick jabs: “Who the hell is this chick? / She been out kind of long / Had one hot song, I’m sorry I missed it.” Unfortunately the feature collaborations miss here with the uneventful “Wanna Lick (Magic Stick Pt. 2)” with former rival 50 Cent and the tasteless “Need A B####” with Nate Dogg on the hook.
While Ms. G.O.A.T. won’t rival the We Got It For Cheap series, Lil’ Kim shows that her time behind bars didn’t rust all of her swag away. Just like her grill, her talent needs to be in the right light and setting for it to be a good look.
