- published: 21 Dec 2015
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Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1975), better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and actress who was a member of the group Junior M.A.F.I.A..
Jones was born and raised in Brooklyn, living much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. As a teenager, Kim would rap for fun, being heavily influenced by other female MCs like MC Lyte and Lady of Rage. When word got to The Notorious B.I.G. that she could rhyme, he made Jones perform a freestyle for him on the spot. Impressed with her, he took her in and she began her music career in 1995 with the group Junior M.A.F.I.A., whose debut album Conspiracy generated three hit singles. In late 1996, her solo debut album Hard Core was released. Hard Core was certified double platinum and spawned three consecutive #1 rap hits that included: "No Time" "Not Tonight (Ladies Night remix)" and "Crush on You", a record for a female rapper. Her following albums, The Notorious K.I.M. (2000) and La Bella Mafia (2003), both were certified platinum by the RIAA, making Kim the only female rapper besides Missy Elliott to have at least 3 platinum albums so far. Kim solidified her star power in 2001, when "Lady Marmalade", a song Kim was featured on, went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. That made her the second female rapper to earn a #1 on that chart.
Aaron Charles Carter (born December 7, 1987) is an American singer. He came to fame as a pop and hip hop singer in the late 1990s, establishing himself as a star among pre-teen and teenage audiences during the early-first decade of the 21st century.
Carter was born at the Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Florida, where his parents, Jane Elizabeth (née Spaulding) and Robert Gene Carter, ran the Garden Villa Retirement Home. The family was originally from upstate New York, where his brother Nick, of the boy band Backstreet Boys, was born. Aside from his older brother Nick, he also has three sisters: twin sister Angel (a model), B.J. and Leslie (1986–2012). Carter is named after his maternal grandfather, Douglas "Charles" Spaulding, and paternal grandfather, Aaron Charles Carter. Carter attended the Frank D. Miles Elementary School and the Ruskin School in Florida. Carter has said that the mood in his home was often tense because of his parents' divorce. His parents would often argue about his money and Carter would often be in the middle of the fight, trying to stop it. Carter later felt that he was pushed into show business when he was too young.