Two of the biggest female performers in the rap-music world have fired salvos in a new feud that might cause some offstage tension at the Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden tonight.
After a series of well-publicized disputes between several leading male rappers, the focus tonight could be on the expected standoff between self-proclaimed tough girl and rap veteran Lil’ Kim, 27, and rising new talent Eve, 23, a former Philadelphia stripper who is a nominee for Best Female Rap Solo Performance.
Lil’ Kim, who calls herself “Queen Bee” after dominating the charts in the late 1990s, has used her latest release to warn Eve, whose full name is Eve Jeffers, that she’s still the No. 1 female in the rap world.
In her new song “I Came Back for You,” Lil’ Kim, a k a Kimberly Jones, raps, “Even being No. 2 your chances are slim/’Cause when God made Adam he should have made Kim. So keep ya tacky ways, go back to the stripper days/As long as I’m around, you gonna bow down.”
The lyrics are seen by many fans as Lil’ Kim’s answer to a musical taunt made by Eve in her song “Let Me Blow Ya Mind,” which won a Best Rap Grammy last year.
In that song, Eve appeared to take a shot at Lil’ Kim’s unabashed love of fashion and her absence from the charts in the last few years (she took time off to shoot a film).
“Some of y’all ain’t writin’ well, too concerned with fashion,” Eve rapped. Lil’ Kim, who was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, has sidestepped any outright confirmation that her lyrics are a return “challenge” to Eve but said, “I choose my battles in life.”
A spokesperson for Eve declined to comment. Her nomination tonight is for a song called “Satisfaction,” in which she raps, “Everything I am is because I had to make it happen.”
Both female rappers have strong connections to the often-violent male rap world.
Eve began her career as a sidekick to rap powerhouse DMX and has had her recent records produced by rap guru Dr. Dre.
Lil’ Kim’s mentor and lover was Biggie Smalls – the Notorious B.I.G. – who was gunned down in Los Angeles in what cops suspect was part of a rap feud. She was a member of Smalls’ rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A.
FIGHTING WORDS
Rapper Eve’s song “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” (in collaboration with Gwen Stefani), has been interpreted as a swipe at fellow rapper Lil’ Kim, a famously bold dresser who recently made a film. The lyrics include:
“Some of y’all aint writin’ well, too concerned with fashion/
None of you aint Giselle, cat walk and imagine/
A lotta y’all Hollywood, drama, passed it/
Cut b***h, camera off, real s**t, blast it.”
Lines from Lil’ Kim’s soon-to-be-released “I Came Back For You,” appear to strike back at Eve:
“I’m very concerned with fashion – aint my misfortune I don’t know how to rock this Hollywood thing/
Come back to the light – I’m the heart of the s**t – I started the s**t/
So, keep ya tacky ways, go back to the stripper days, As long as I’m around, you gon bow down/
I got an army, you’ll can’t harm me. If the shoe was on the other foot, I know you’d try and starve me/
I’m a Prada mama, Dolce and Gabbana dripping, the martini and mimosa-sipping. I’m the heart of the s**t.”