La Bella Mafia [PA] - Lil' Kim > Reviews > ***Lil' Kim Has Done it Again!!!***

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	A Gr8 Hip Hop Album
Disadvantages:	none

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The Queen Bee of Female Hip Hop brings us her newest album in a collections of greats. The Bella Mafia.

I stumbled over this album (and artist) quite by accident when browsing the urban section in HMV. I am always no the look out for some really good female hip hop and I certainly got what I wanted when I found this album.

Lil' Kim History
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She was born on July 11th, 1975, and raised in Brooklyn as Kimberly Denise Jones .
In 1996 she released her first album called Hardcore and worked with such people as Puff Daddy (she was already connected to Biggie Smalls, The Notorious B.I.G, who was a mentor to her in her early years). On her next album which was released in the year 2000 and called Notorious KIM, she started to produce herself and founded her own record company Queen Bee Records. This, the newest album, was released in 2003. But one had just been released this month called The Naked Truth. She is now in prison serving a year sentence for perjury.

Music In General
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Lil' Kim's music is pure and simple Hip Hop. She has a fantastic voice which truly represents the female side of the industry. She has worked on more commercial records with other artists such as Christina Aguilera, 50 Cent and Missy Elliott but each time her music has still been truly KIM. Her lyrics are hard and the music is bouncy. For people that don't like all the swearing and the gangster side of the music then I would say that this isn't for you. But for those who love the pure rawness of Hip Hop then this is the one for you!

Price and Packaging
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I bought this in HMV for £13.99 but is £9.99 on the website www.blah.com and have seen in for much cheaper on eBay.

The cover on the album is pretty eye catching. Lil' Kim looks stunning in a Mafia style pair of pinstriped trousers with braces barely coving her up! Lil' Kim is plastered over the cover in bright pink which matches the side seam of the CD case. In the background it's night time and it looks like a dodgy deal is going on!!! No surprise.

This Album in General
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This album is fantastic it is really one of my favourite female Hip Hop albums far better than Missy Elliott. There are a couple of weak links in this album but on the whole there is a really good selection of great tunes.

Track 12 Magic Stick with 50 Cent is a good one as its really catchy and one you can bouncy along to. My absolute favourite is the last track on the album track 16 Came Back for You. There are some quite powerful, hard-hitting meanings to the lyrics and you can't help but rap along!

There are so many other featured artists on this album that it really does have a wide range of styles, so therefore you don't really get bored of this album and I must admit I do play it at least once a month.

The intro's leading into a few of the songs are well worth a listen too. Usually skipped over in other albums I always listen to the ones on this album and have a little chuckle as some are rather amusing!

Conclusion
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In general this album is a great purchase and well worth adding to anyone's collection. There is no need to skip any of the tracks as they are all put together well, both musically and lyrically. Lil' Kim has done it again with another classic to add to her fast building reputation. The amount of other famous artists that appear on the album is a good indication that Lil' Kim is well respected in the Hip Hop industry. She is a valued member of the female side of the Hip Hop industry. I would certainly tell any fan of this sort of music to get this album right away as it is definitely not one to miss. 10/10 for Lil' Kim The Bella Mafia.

Track Listing
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1) Intro (1.25) = 5/10
2) Hold it now (Feat Havoc) (5:25) = 7/10
3) Doing it way Big (4:00) = 8/10
4) Can't F**k with queen Bee (Feat. Governor & Shelene Thomas with Full Force) (4:58) = 10/10
5) Hollywood Shit (0.51) = 10/10
6) Shake Your Bum Bum (Feat. Lil' Shanice) (3:18) = 8/10
7) This is Who I am (Feat. Swizz Beatz & Mashonda) (3:16) = 10/10
8) The Jump Off (Feat. Mr Cheeks) (3:54) = 10/10
9) This is a Warning (3:42) = 8/10
10) Can You Hear Me Now (Feat. Missy Elliott) (3:12) = 10/10
11)Thug Luv (Feat. Twista) (4:12) = 10/10
12) Magic Stick (Feat. 50 Cent) (3:31) = 10/10
13) Get in Touch With us (feat. Styles P) (3:47) = 8/10
14) Heavenly Father (Feat. Big Hill) (5:07) = 10/10
15) Tha Beehive (Feat. Reeks, Bunky S.A, Vee & Saint from The Advakids) (8:07) = 10/10
16) Came Back For You (4:20) = 10/10

Extra Information
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You can check out Lil' Kim's new alum details and sampled music on www.atlanticrecords.com .

Executive producers: Kimberly Jones & the notorious B.I.G associate Producers: Hilary Weston & Jean Nelson.

Thanks for reading x x x x