“Queen of Rap or Queen Bee” are the names given to her after a successful rap career. Due to music, acting, and reality Tv shows Lil’ Kim’s net worth was $18,000,000 back in 2017. But is that the case today? Continue reading as I will shade more light on Lil’ Kim’s personal and financial life.
Table of Contents
Who is Lil’ Kim?
Her official name is Kimberly Denise Jones. She was born on July 11th, 1974 in Brooklyn, New York. Her dad was called Linwood Jones, while the mother was Ruby Jones-Mitchell. Linwood was a U.S. Marine. Christopher was his only brother.
She studied at Queen of All Saints Elementary School in 300 Vanderbilt Avenue, Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Life as a child was calm but when she became an adolescent, she was chased away from home. This is after her bad relationship with her dad, who had separated from her mum while she was nine.
Leaving her with no choice but stay in the streets. She spent a majority part of her adolescent life living in the streets. Lil’ Kim used to freestyle rap due to the influence of female rappers of that time who include; The Lady of Rage and MC Lyte.
The Notorious B.I.G. discovered Lil Kim’s rapping talent. After his discovery, she let Lil’ Kim join his music group Junior M.A.F.I.A. The group’s first album was Conspiracy—two singles from the record where on the top 20 singles US chart. The Recording Industry Association of America awarded the record a gold music recording certification.
After a while, she went back to J. Hale Vocational High School due to The Notorious B.I.G’s influence and partnership with Puffy’s record label Bad Boy Records. She was unable to finish school and had to transfer to Brooklyn College Academy to complete her high school education.
Solo Music Career
In 1996 Lil’ Kim went solo and was a guest artist on some R&B albums before she released her first record known as Hard Core in the same year. Hard Core was able to attain number eleven on the U.S. Billboard 200. It was also number three on Top R&B album Billboard.
During the first week of release, the album sold 78,000, and since its release to date, more than five million copies have been sold globally. RIAA gave the album a double-platinum certification.
Lil’ Kim formed her label called Queen Bee Entertainment in 1998. Two years later, she dropped the second album entitled The Notorious K.I.M. On Billboard 200 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the record was number four and one, respectively.
Her third studio album is known as La Bella Mafia, which fifth on Billboard 200. In the collection she did collaborations with rappers and musicians like;
- 50 Cent
- Cheeks
- Twista
The album won her two awards, Female Hip-Hop Artist of the Year and Female Single of the Year, all by Source Awards. Lil’ Kim’s fourth album was The Naked Truth. Its release was in 2005. The collection did not do well due to her being imprisoned. She also cited that her imprisonment was the main issue towards promoting the album to her fans.
After struggles in the music scene for some years, Lil’ was able to release her fifth studio album called 9 in 2019.
Lil’ Kim’s Net Worth Total
In 2017 Lil’ Kim was worth $18,000,000. However, that’s not the situation presently. According to Celebrity Net, Worth Lil’ Kim’s net worth is $500,000.
Her rap career was a significant factor in her wealth. Wilhelmina Models had Lil’ endorse their Company. She was the first and only female rapper to recommend the fashion company. Another endorsement deal was with Iceberg and MAC Cosmetics.
She was a model for Baby Phat, a clothing brand in 2000. A year later, Lil’ and other musicians were in a Mac (Apple Computer) advertisement. Old Navy, an apparel line, made Kim their spokesperson. Jacob and Company, a jewelry company, was the manufacturer of her designer watches called Royalty by Lil’ Kim. After a while, she also started Hollyhood her clothing line.
As per court documents Lil’ Kim produced when filing for bankruptcy she owns a car collection that includes;
- 2005 Bentley – $52,600
- 2000 Mercedes – $4.200
Additionally, Lil’s house furniture is worth $25,000, electronics and clothes are worth $5,000 each. All her assets are worth $2,573,300.
Financial Problems and Bankruptcy
According to personal research, being a celebrity, you need to live a high-class life. However, that comes with financial strain. The situation happened to Lil’ Kim. Even though her assets are worth $2,573,300, her liabilities are over $4,000,000. Furthermore, she owes the IRS $1,845,451.
She took a loan from a bank to purchase a home in New Jersey. But years later, she was unable to pay off the debt leading to her filing for bankruptcy before the bank took possession of the house.
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