With the VERZUZ battles becoming increasingly more popular, more hip hop legends from the ’90s to early 2000s are looking to jump into face-offs with their catalogs. After the immense success of the Lox VERZUZ Dipset and Ja Rule VERZUZ Fat Joe, fans might wonder who else might want to try their hand at the battle of legends. One of the names that has been thrown around is New York rapper Lil’ Kim, one of the shortest rappers in the hip hop industry. But how short are we talking, here?
Born July 11th, 1974, Lil’ Kim’s career started after she met fellow east coast rapper The Notorious B.I.G. Once Sean Combs and Christopher Wallace heard the female emcee, the upstart Bad Boy Records added Lil’ Kim to the group Junior M.A.F.I.A. in 1994. The group released their debut album, Conspiracy, in 1995, and the project reached #8 on the Billboard 200 and featured the singles “Player’s Anthem,” “I Need You Tonight,” and “Get Money.”
Lil’ Kim then began pursuing a solo career with the release of her debut album, Hard Core, in 1996, which went double platinum. She continued with her second album, The Notorious K.I.M., and reached the #4 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. It featured the singles “No Matter What They Say” and “How Many Licks?” The album, combined with her hip hop beef with fellow New York femcee Foxy Brown, propelled her to stardom in the late ’90s. By 2001, Lil’ Kim had grown big enough to be featured on the popular hit remake of “Lady Marmalade” with Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Mya. The remake stayed at #1 on the Billboard charts for five straight weeks before dropping from the top spot.
Lil’ Kim released her third album, La Bella Mafia, in 2003, but unfortunately the project didn’t meet the same expectations as her previous ones. In 2005, while serving time for perjury and conspiracy, Lil’ Kim released her fourth album, The Naked Truth. Though widely anticipated due to Kim’s circumstances at the time, the album also didn’t meet sales expectations, prompting her to move away from music and explore other ventures in the entertainment industry.
Out of four albums, Lil’ Kim has only had two that actually became mainstream successes. Though she has a decent discography of work, she only had a few hits that people may actually remember in a VERZUZ setting. According to Famous Births Deaths, Lil’ Kim is only 4 feel 11 inches tall. She’s even shorter than Kim Kardashian, who stands at 5 feet 2 inches. When you think about it, it’s ironic that she’s made four albums and her height is actually 4 feet. Unfortunately, it also illustrates that on the VERZUZ stage, Lil’ Kim’s set list would be just as short as she is.