In the mid-1990s, when New York still maintained a stranglehold over the hip-hop world, two game-changing female emcees began to make their mark on the city. Both raised in Brooklyn and both attending Brooklyn College Academy simultaneously for a period of time, Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown were poised for greatness. But, unfortunately, they were also destined to be at odds.
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As she began to gain traction with her impressive raps and introduction of sex appeal into the genre, Lil’ Kim was taken under the wing of The Notorious B.I.G. and his crew Junior M.A.F.I.A. As for Brown, whose approach to rap strongly resembled Kim, she would instead find allegiances with Jay-Z and Nas, who were the leading New York hip-hop acts alongside Biggie at the time.
[RELATED: Lil Kim Finishes Writing Upcoming Memoir]
In 1997, following their respective 1996 debut albums that were released a week apart from each other, Kim and Brown graced the cover of The Source magazine, as the publication platformed their marriage of sex and hip-hop. “Harlots or Heroines?” the cover read.
Shortly after, the opportunity arose for Kim and Brown to craft a joint album, first proposed by Def Jam’s CEO Lyor Cohen. But, according to BET, both of their egos did not allow them to share the spotlight with one another, and the project would never be realized.
Then in 1999, Kim’s friend and fellow Junior M.A.F.I.A. member would stoke the flames of Kim and Brown’s passive-aggressive relationship. Rapping Stop trying to sound like her, b*tches on Lil’ Cease’s “Play Around,” fans and Brown made a fair assumption that the diss was directed at her. A year later (2000), when Kim would put out her sophomore LP The Notorious K.I.M., another shot was fired in Brown’s direction on the album’s title track.
Girls say they different but uh see
In all actuality, they wanna be me
This chick running around with this stink ass gap
And them fake ass raps having panic attacks
You ain’t a star
And your record company know that
How you make all this money, get this far and blow it
I’m a businesswoman now so I’m not concerned
I’d bet on Lil’ Cease before you and your Firm
Around five months later, Brown finally took the opportunity to stand up for herself, dissing Kim on a feature verse for Capone-N-Noreaga’s “Bang Bang.”
You talk slick, fuck is all that sneak shit?
You and Diddy, y’all kill me with that subliminal shit, bitch
Why’s you frontin and kickin that street shit?
Please, impress me, go back to that freak shit
While your broke-ass was guzzlin’ nuts and shit
I was choppin the weights, leak and O.Z.s and shit
A decoy bitch, like the Feds lie in you
Ain’t you supposed to have a little bitta Bed-Stuy in you?
Just a few months after this, words turned to action, unfortunately. Joined by an entourage, Kim would confront Capone and others at the Hot 97 radio station in New York. Shots would ring off after a scuffle, and although there were no fatalities, one man involved sustained gunshot wounds. In the days following the debacle, Brown would issue a statement asking Kim to settle their differences and end the beef.
“I really don’t know how it started,” Brown told MTV News in March 2001. “I want to call a truce… I want to have a sit-down with Kim. I don’t care what it is. Let’s just end it. We can even do a collaboration. We’re bigger than this.”
A full reconciliation was never initiated, though, and Kim would end up serving one year in prison in 2005 on three counts of perjury and one count of conspiracy, as it turned out she lied in court about her involvement in the shooting.
When Kim was released, it felt as though the rivalry subsided. However, when Kim decided to enter Dancing With the Stars in 2009, Brown used her song “Off the Muscle” to reinvigorate their bad blood.
Catch me at Marcy at the mall
But muthafuckas will never see me dancing with the stars
Never will I embarrass my borough
I’m too thorough
The next year, during an interview with the now-defunct Black Voices blog, Kim would issue a response.
“I don’t even want to mention her,” she said. “One moment she got something bad to say about me, one moment she got something good to say. I don’t like that flip-flop shit, that just means that you’re still crazy! My mom always told me if you know there’s a snake in the grass, and you know it’s a snake that bit you before, why would you pick it back up? I’m not picking back up any more snakes no more.”
With what felt like the final word, Brown would diss Kim one last time in 2011 with a song titled “Massacre,” where she also addresses a separate feud Kim had with fellow New York female rap icon Nicki Minaj.
Brooklyn, baby, y’all taking it home
With just my Timbs on and my microphone
Glass house, throwing them stones
Bear witness to the rise and fall of Miss Kimberly Jones
Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
