Lil Kim’s Hard Core was a monster debut. The Queen Bee’s album went double platinum off the strength of two catchy singles (“No Time,” “Not Tonight Remix”), raunchy sex appeal and Biggie’s writing. Another important aspect was the production which sprinkled hard, menacing rhythms amongst Kim’s more radio accessible tracks. The hardest beat, “Queen Bitch,” came from two members of Diddy’s original Hitmen stable — Nasheim Myrick and Carlos “6 July” Broady. They got their hands on Roberta Flack’s 1969 album First Take. The duo’s ingenuity is evident when you listen to Flack’s “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye.” Buried deep in the song are inconspicuous notes from a piano solo that was amplified for Kim’s pseudo-feminist street anthem. Ms. Flack did publicly cosign the Fugee’s “Killing Me Softly” remake, but something tells me she might be a little bit more taken aback by this interpretation of her work.
(SAMPLE AT 1:52 MARK)
LIL KIM “QUEEN BITCH”
****************************************
BIGGIE ORIGINAL
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 