“You don’t know, my town is the truth. Welcome To Brooklyn”
Today, From The Vault travels back to 2005 when a certain Kimberly Jones released one of her most acclaimed singles. Our pick is ‘Lighters Up’ by Lil’ Kim.
Produced by former close collaborator Scott Storch, the Island-flavored number – which samples Damian Marley’s ‘Welcome To Jamrock‘ – was the first single from Queen Bee’s fourth album ‘The Naked Truth‘. An ode to the artist’s native neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the cut was a Urban hit in the US where it reached #31 on the Hot 100 and the 9th position of the Hot Hip-Hop/R&B charts.
Serving ghetto-fab aplenty, the accompanying Kirk Fraser video is set in various parts of Brooklyn and includes a special cameo by fellow royal Mary J. Blige, as well as comedian Katt Williams. With its documentary feel, the clip was shot a few months before the rapper’s incarceration and uses album track ‘Shut Up B*tch‘ as its introduction.
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Although the last decade has seen Ms. Jones trying to re-establish herself as a chart force, it can be noted that ‘Lighters Up’ stands as Kim’s latest chart success and quite frankly nothing she has released since this song and its parent album has been anything on-par with her classic catalog.
Over the years, we’ve stated how much we’d love to see the pint-sized diva win and we firmly believe that armed with a single akin to this one she could be on the brink of the comeback that has been eluding her for so long.
Until then, Notorious Kim, we salute you!
Your thoughts?