I heard that Lil Kim was coming to perform at the Key Club in Los Angeles and was really excited to attend her show. I loved her music since her first album Hardcore came out in 1996. Growing up, her music was bumped when I was just a little kid sitting in the backseat of my cousins’ car in Long Beach without any idea of what the lyrics really meant. Everyone ridiculed me for wanting to come see her, but other than Missy Elliot-Lil Kim was the only woman rapper that I grew up dancing to.

It was 10:30pm on Friday, when I finally walked into the Key Club on Sunset. The mood of the club was of course, stone-cold gangsta looks from thugs and hoochie mamas. I didn’t expect any less. The people and the atmosphere reminded me of my high school dances at Long Beach Poly, dark and urban. However, other than the urban folks, there was a large population of queers that reminded me of the ones I see on the second floor of Rage and a bunch of hipster-looking high school students throughout the club. There were a few middle-aged Caucasian men, which I didn’t think was typical but hey, lovers of hip hop were there in different shapes and sizes.

I came a little late because I thought that I would catch Lil Kim right before she started to perform. There was no one in line, only a crowd smoking cigarettes outside. When I entered, the places was not packed but there was some bumping to get through. From the door, I moved past a fully-stocked bar, a very crowded bottle service area with poles for a go-go dancer and moved down into the pit. I looked up and could see the VIP area that was on the second floor. This pale tattoo-ed guy who kept yelling “RIP” to “2pac”, “Biggie”, in a Royal Blunts jersey, I assume was the emcee because he just kept bumping his arm up to the music. I finally got myself situated in the crowd when another opening act came on. I forget his name but one of his songs that particularly caught my ear was about how “every man’s position should be from the backside”. Around 11:30pm, two women came onstage and one rapped by the name of ‘Big Girl’ impressed me. During their performance, they threw shirts labeled “I <3 me a BIG BITCH”. Lil Kim’s brother came on and announced that his sister was coming and the crowd grumbled in anticipation.

Finally at 12:15am, the Queen Bitch entered the venue and everyone started screaming. She was accompanied by two other ladies wearing veils. Lil Kim was under a white sheet and when the music started, she began to dance seductively underneath it and kept teasing the crowd until the dancing ladies finally showed her. There were lots of lights, but it was without a mistake, Lil Kim. She also had a pink veil and matching corset. The DJ set played all of her hits within the thirty minutes of her first set. Lil Kim and her back-up dancers finally ripped off their veils in unison but I was too short My friend who drove me that night and is an alien to the pop culture world asked, “Is she one of those Kardashian girls?” No, no but I knew what he meant from all the plastic surgery she had gotten. After the first set with her most popular hits: Magic Stick, the Jump Off, and How Many Licks, ended with an Indian-esque Bollywood song, I was too tired from standing in heels for almost three hours and had to leave. After she told us that she loved us, I decided to leave that night around 1am.

Lil Kim to me is a revolutionary for her rapping talents, radical song lyrics, and that once she was part of Biggie’s entourage. Yes, she went to jail for lying about her friend’s weapons charge, she’s had numerous plastic surgeries, and has probably the nastiest song lyrics, and is an official has-been because she was on Dancing with the Stars, but she’ll always have a special place in my heart. This is for you, Queen Bitch.