Even in 2000, it was rare for the UK music weeklies to make much of anything that wasn’t dance or indie. For other genres one really needed to read specialist magazines. So the appearance of Lil’ Kim’s second album The Notorious K.I.M. in their reviews surprised me, and I was even more startled to find it widely praised - most likely compensating for missing out on her debut Hard Core.
I therefore metaphorically rushed out to buy it (i.e. ordered in online) only to be completely underwhelmed by it. In fact I never made it through the album in one listen, and to date I never have. Part of this is due to its unremitting aggression - I strongly felt on my first listen that she should just have a cup of tea and a lie down. Her voice too lacks variety and has a pitch, which, when combined with the beats, makes 18 tracks tiresome to listen to. Incidentally, I have no problem with its explicit lyrics or how filthy she can get.
However, as I’ve discovered over the subsequent years, the majority of its songs are fine when listened to on their own. Having them appear at random amongst the relative tranquility of the rest of my music - when I have my music on shuffle - mixes and messes things up a bit.
This song is not particularly notable compared to the others on the album, except she does use the word “valedictorian.” Oh yes.
Lil’ Kim - The Notorious K.I.M. (Amazon UK, Amazon US, iTunes)
