Crush on You, How Many Licks, Magic Stick
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$18 Million
“If peter piper pecked em, I betcha biggie bust em.” Hip hop music went through a drastic change in the early-to-mid-1990s with the influence of both East Coast and West Coast rap gaining popularity. Caught in the middle of this change was the young Kimberly Denise Jones of Brooklyn, New York who turned to music to cope with living on the streets as a teen. Eventually adopting “Lil’ Kim” as her stage name, her freestyle raps turned heads including East Coast rapper, The Notorious B.I.G., who was so impressed by her style that he helped launch her career in 1995.
Releasing her first solo album—Hard Core—in 1996, Lil’ Kim found instant success and has gone on to sell over 15 million albums and 30 million singles including hits like “No Time,” “Crush On You” and “Ladies Night.” The New York native served a year-long prison sentence and simultaneously released her fourth album—The Naked Truth—while planning her grand return to the spotlight in 2009 on Dancing with the Stars. Along the way, she’s also earned dozens of awards and amassed an $18 million net worth which, beyond living the lifestyle of the rich and famous, she’s used to improve her look with a few rounds under the knife!
Over the years, Lil’ Kim’s appearance has dramatically changed and left her fans wide-eyed in amazement as the 42-year-old is nearly unrecognizable from her 1990s debut. These days, Lil’ Kim has lighter skin with straight blonde hair, high cheek bones and a brand-new nose, none of which fans have embraced. In fact, the hip-hop rapper looks less African American and more Caucasian, which has ignited widespread criticism from fans who argue, “Dark skinned Lil’ Kim was perfection…I don’t know who this woman is anymore.”
Unsurprisingly, the biggest criticism that Lil’ Kim faces from her ongoing transformation is that she’s desperately trying to separate herself from her heritage with light skin and elongated eyes making her look more European. Renowned plastic surgeon, Dr. Jennifer Levine, said, “She’s probably used chemicals, which contain very high doses of acids, on her face, combined with high-acid creams to lighten her skin.” As for Lil’ Kim, the outspoken and opinionated rapper has little to say when it comes to why she’s desperate to change her appearance. So, what started her obvious obsession?
It all began in 2002 when Lil’ Kim started dating Damion “World” Hardy, an abusive boyfriend who frequently punched in the face and left her with black eyes, a broken nose and bloody lips time and time again. After leaving Hardy for good in 2003, Lil’ Kim turned to plastic surgery to repair and reconstruct her nose, which ignited a slew of surgeries that have drastically altered her appearance over the last 14 years.
When before and after photos surfaced of Lil’ Kim’s decade-long transformation, it was the first time that the world had seen such an eye-catching change since the King of Pop himself. Although Michael Jackson claimed that he suffered from a skin condition that left him splotchy and with no other choice but to match his skin with the rest of his face, Lil’ Kim hasn’t admitted to any condition leaving many to believe she’s happy bleaching her skin regardless of what her fans and critics have to say.
Growing up on the streets after being kicked out of her house as a teen, many believe Lil’ Kim’s plastic surgery addiction is rooted in her need to distance herself from her past by creating a new identity. On the heels of early success, she revealed an intimate part of her past during an interview in 2000 saying, “I have low self-esteem and I always have. Guys always cheated on me with women who were European looking. Being a regular black girl wasn’t good enough.” Shortly after, Lil’ Kim dished the details of her breast enhancement surgery saying it was the worst pain she’d ever felt but “it was to make me look the way I wanted to look.”
Among her long list of procedures includes Botox injections under her jaw, fat injections in her cheeks as well as skin removal and tightening around her eyes. Unfortunately, however, none of these procedures—totaling around $500,000—have done much to boost her career with her last album release in 2005 and her last chart-topping single debuting over a decade ago in 2005.
Regardless, nothing can stop the rapper’s obsession with plastic surgery, which many surgeons now call an addiction. “Personally, I think she should seek professional help,” one surgeon remarked. “Based on these pictures from 2016 alone, she’s going to end up destroying her face if she continues.” At only 42 years old and with plenty of opportunities ahead, we hope Lil’ Kim learns to embrace her past to get her current obsession under control before it completely and tragically derails both her life and her career.
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