Keeping up with the theme of 50 years of hip-hop, Ebony magazine chose to celebrate Lil Kim as a force for female rap and rap period!
However, some folks could not get past the photo of the queen.
On Instagram Ebony said:
When it comes to this Hip Hop Game, you don’t wanna bumble with the bee and for almost three decades, Lil Kim has continued to show us why. From her days with Junior Mafia to now, she has always come correct with bars slicker than honey with an impeccable charisma that is impossible to duplicate.
As any Queen Bee does, Lil Kim’s example as a formidable female rapper birthed an undeniable blueprint with every move she made. You don’t have to look far for Lil Kim’s impact on Hip-Hop, its more evident than ever. From @NickiMinaj to @LolaBrooke, to the @CityGirls, and @theestallion, there is not a rapper around who has not been influenced by her cadence, style or creativity.
As EBONY continues to honor #HipHop50 in partnership with @MassAppeal , @lilkimthequeenbee shows up on our cover on her own time and in her own way, maximizing her agency as a trendsetting and Hip Hop legend on the terms she sets. That’s just how a Queen Bee does it—shall she proceed? ?
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According to TMZ fans took serious issue with Kim’s front page spread on Tuesday, for its cutout-like appearance and NFT glow as the publication rolled out others with 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Rick Ross and Swizz Beatz.
The Shaderoom comment section quickly filled up with questions about the photo and who took it.
Renowned photographer Keith Major, who served as Director of Photography for the project, clearly couldn’t stomach seeing his work slandered in such fashion and hopped into The Shade Room to let a complainer know Kim had the final say on the cover writing, “Man, she wanted to be in control of the retouching so this is what we got.”
Lil Kim is however clapping back.
On Instagram, she made it very clear that she did not approve of the photo Ebony was using.
“Who is this?” Cuz that’s not the photo I approved or any other content they’ve put out. I always told Ebony it looked like a painting but they didn’t wanna listen. They said they loved it. It’s sabotage for me. The funny sh*t about this is that this is THEIR retoucher!
She then flooded her stories with comments she agreed with:
At the end of the day the content has been rolled out.
Hopefully Ebony and Lil Kim can come to some middle ground on this momentous occasion.
