Lil’ Kim will receive the I Am Hip Hop Award at the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards next month for all she’s accomplished.
Past honorees include KRS-One, Salt-N-Pepa, Grandmaster Flash, Russell Simmons, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Rakim, MC Lyte, Doug E. Fresh, Scarface, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg and Luther Campbell.
Kim shared news of the honor Thursday on Instagram, and the rapper said she’ll dedicate it to her passionate fanbase the Beehive, not to be confused with Beyoncé‘s group of fans the Beyhive.
“I am graciously humbled by this honor. 🙏🏽 Thank you @bet. Beehive this one is for you 👑🐝” wrote Kim next to a promo shot for the award.
A lot of people congratulated the 45-year-old in the comments afterward and said the honor is long overdue.
“It’s about TIME !!” someone wrote.
“If anybody deserve this its……YOU‼️Congrats babygirl and I will def be glued to da tv 🐝🐝🐝” another person commented.
“Congratulations!!!! You deserve it!” a third fan stated. “You influenced me & my entire generation & more!! You set trends & you broke barriers! ICON🙏🏾😍😍.”
Kim broke onto the scene with her group Junior M.A.F.I.A, put together by her musical mentor and lover The Notorious B.I.G. Their debut album “Conspiracy” dropped in 1995, and it didn’t take long for Kim to be recognized as the breakout star.
Her first LP, “Hard Core,” came in 1996, and along with fellow Brooklyn rapper and archenemy Foxy Brown, Kim ushered in a new era for the female rapper that consisted of being as raunchy and overtly sexual as her male counterparts, while still embracing femininity.
In 2000 Kim’s sophomore LP “The Notorious K.I.M.” hit shelves, “La Bella Mafia” arrived in 2003, and “The Naked Truth” in 2009.
And on Friday, Sept. 27, she released a single called “Found You,” featuring the City Girls and O.T. Genasis, ahead of her fifth studio album “9.”
The 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards airs Oct. 8, 2019, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, and some of the performers include Rapsody, Megan Thee Stallion, Saweetie, Rick Ross, DaBaby, Chance The Rapper, T-Pain, YBN Cordae, Anderson .Paak., and Lil Jon. It’ll also be hosted by Lil Duval.
