One of The Notorious B.I.G.‘s most iconic lines involved kicking in a door and waving a .44, but Lil Kim says that the fan-favorite bar actually works on more than one level in the latest episode of People’s Party With Talib Kweli. While reminiscing about Biggie’s legendary legacy, she tells the host that the heavyweight rapper went above and beyond to make sure “everybody ate” from his Junior MAFIA crew and his old block crew as well.
“He kicked the door down for everybody and he brung everybody through the door,” she says. “Some people have kicked the door down and said, ‘Okay, now run through it.’ He kicked the door down and dragged everybody through. When he did that, he expected the same mindframe he had to process for everybody and unfortunately, they didn’t.” She explains that he did occasionally get frustrated with his street associates like Bugsy and Chico Del Vec, who Kim says “never even went in the studio,” because Big put everyone in position to get legal money and they didn’t exactly take to it. “Sometimes, you gotta have tough love for your guys,” Kim concludes. “You here now, I can’t carry you all the way.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Kim discusses the female rapper who influenced her own style, remembers being starstruck by Diddy when she met him at a Jodeci recording session, and tells Kweli about her activism and charity work, focusing on women, children, AIDS prevention, and the LGBTQ community, as well as promoting her new album, 9.
People’s Party is a weekly interview show hosted by Talib Kweli with big-name guests exploring hip-hop, culture, and politics. You can subscribe for more on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.