Lil' Kim :
La Bella Mafia

Release Date: 04 March 2003

1. Intro

2. Hold It Now (feat. Havoc)

3. Doing It Way BIG

4. Can't F**k With Queen Bee (feat. Governor, Shelene Thomas, Full Force)

5. Hollywood Skit

6. Shake Ya Bum Bum (feat. Lil' Shanice)

7. This Is Who I Am (feat. Swizz Beatz, Mashonda)

8. Jump Off, The (feat. Mr Cheeks)

9. This Is A warning

10. Can You Hear Me Now? (feat. Missy Elliot)

11. Thug Luv (feat. Twista)

12. Magic Stick (feat. 50 Cents)

13. Get In Touch With US (feat. Styles P)

14. Heavenlt Father (feat Big Hill)

15. Bee Hive, The (feat. Reeks, Bunky S.A., Vee, Saint)

16. Came Back For You

Lil' Kim - La Bella Mafia

Since her Grammy-winning collaboration with Christina Aguilera, Mya, and Pink for 'Lady Marmalade' in 2001, Lil' Kim has largely kept herself out of the limelight, working on new material for her latest album 'La Bella Mafia', as well as on a number of tracks for several other artists, including 3LW and Lil' Mo.

Kim's follow-up to her sophomore effort, 'Notorious K.I.M.', shows distinct growth and maturity from her 2000 release, as, although her favourite subject matter ultimately still remains on tracks like 'Magic Stick' and 'Hold It Now', she has managed to move on considerably from her renowned sexually explicit tracks, (e.g. 'How Many Licks'), to rap about how she feels in regards to her crew, her competition and her lost love, Christopher 'Biggie' Wallace.

Take one look at the tracklisting and details of the album, and it automatically becomes clear that Kimberly Jones is far from over her grief of losing Biggie. The song titles 'Doing It Way BIG' and 'Heavenly Father' suggest Kim's dedication to her former lover, and even though Notorious BIG passed in 1995, he is named as executive producer of 'La Bella Mafia' alongside Lil' Kim herself. The intro to the album also features the voice of Biggie repeatedly saying over the 'Juicy' instrumental: "I took Lil' Kim, she's the hungriest. She wanna do her thing, she writes…"

Yet, Kim's obsession with Biggie doesn't seem to have hindered the progress of her music, and if anything, has spurred her on to reach further, stepping up the quality of her flow to eliminate all competition. The beats on this album are incredible, and it's a rarity nowadays to find a hip hop album without at least one track produced by the Neptunes. However, with only a handful of big-name producers, (Timbaland, Swizz Beats and Kanye West), Kim manages to steer clear of the recognisable, and dare I say "common" sounds of mainstream rap music, to come up with a very original and unique LP.

Collaborations are aplenty, with guest appearances from rapper of the moment, 50 Cent, on the cheeky 'Magic Stick'; Mr. Cheeks on the Timbaland-produced 'The Jump Off'; Missy Elliot on the catchy '(When Kim Say) Can You Hear Me Now?'; and Styles P of the Lox riding an ancient Indian beat on 'Get In Touch'. The best cut of the album though, has to be 'Thug Luv', on which Kim and Twista speed rap alongside each other, a track which displays Kim's full potential.

Lil' Kim's lyrics are consistently sharp and on point throughout the album, and tracks like the mid-tempo 'This Is A Warning', 'Can't F**k With Queen Bee', and 'Came Back For You' are blatant threats to anyone even thinking about messing with the Queen. With lines like "If you don't stop, someone's gonna find your ass dead, someone's gonna poison your food…" ('This is a Warning') and "Speak the wrong words bitch, and you will get touched" ('Came Back For You'), haters better stand up and take note.

Overall, despite a few needless interludes interrupting the flow of an otherwise brilliant LP, this has to be Kim's best release to date, and with Foxy Brown's temporary absence from the rap game, Lil' Kim can clearly lay claim to the title of the 'Queen of New York'.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Favourite three tracks:
3) Doing It Way BIG
8) The Jump Off
11) Thug Luv

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