Lil' Kim w/ Naima Adedapo

Buoyed by ties to her mentor and rumored lover, the Notorious B.I.G., rapper Lil' Kim built an early reputation for herself through spicy guest performances on R&B albums before dropping her 1996 debut, <i>Hard Core</i>. She remained a commercial force even after Biggie's death, though her career was slowed by a 2005 prison sentence for conspiracy and perjury following false statements she made about a 2001 shooting; she hasn't released an album since then. In 2009 the notoriously sexualized, tough-as-nails rapper softened her public image by appearing on the reality show “Dancing With the Stars,” but her recent raps have been among her most vicious. Her 2011 mixtape <i>Black Friday</i> took plenty of shots at rival Nicki Minaj, who she accuses of stealing her act. To make her point, she decapitates Minaj on the mixtape's cover.