Iconic female emcee Lil Kim announced that her memoir The Queen Bee has made it through final edits on Monday (July 31). Written alongside esteemed hip-hop journalist Kathy Iandoli, the memoir will include a foreword from legendary fashion designer and fellow New Yorker Marc Jacobs.
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“It’s been a long journey beehive, edits are finally done,” Kim wrote on Twitter Monday. “Thank you to my bestie/soulmate @themarcjacobs for doing my (foreword).”
Along with Kim’s announcement, Iandoli tweeted about how special the project was for her, considering she got to work with both Kim and Jacobs.
“My first big writing check I ever earned, I used to buy my first Marc Jacobs bag because Lil Kim was his BFF so I needed to have one,” she wrote. “Now I’m here working with Marc Jacobs on the Foreword to Lil Kim’s memoir, that I helped her write. Don’t ever deny the power of manifesting.”
Currently, the pre-release link on the book’s publisher Hachette Book Group’s website reveals that the memoir is expected to release in September 2025, and will include 256 pages. Additionally, the description written by Hachette discusses what fans can expect from the book’s contents.
“In this debut memoir, Lil Kim reveals everything that really went on behind the scenes of her legendary career, much of it for the very first time publicly,” they wrote. “From her earliest rap beginnings growing up in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, and her teenage years spent with the Notorious B.I.G. to her rise as a solo icon, Lil Kim not only blazed trails for women in hip-hop, but also inspired the careers of those who followed.”
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Later in the aforementioned press statement, Hachette continued by sharing a preview of the hardships Kim will revisit in the book, such as the discrimination she faced in a male-dominated hip-hop industry.
“However, life at the top hasn’t been easy, either,” Hachette noted. “Lil’ Kim also talks about the hidden moments of her reign: her complicated high-profile relationships, the misogynistic industry she fought to change through sex positivity, the challenging double standards of self-image and beauty in the spotlight, and the momentous act of loyalty that ultimately landed her in prison.”
The Queen Bee was first announced nearly two years ago, and was expected to release in November 2021 before experiencing unspecified postponements. At the time, Kim shared a statement with PEOPLE Magazine about her excitement for the memoir’s release.
“I’m excited to finally get to tell my story after all this time,” she said. “Many people have thought they knew the story of Lil Kim, but they have no idea.”
(Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
