Today is the third class in your new four class set. We will begin class with a casual conversation. Our reading today is about a Ramyun and Chill. Please underline three words or phrases that are not familiar to you. I will ask you to share them with me in class. Your listening material is about hip hop fashion. Please listen and follow the transcript. Please listen to as much as you can.
You have some great topics for your writing. I suggest we start with writing a paragraph about each topic. After we finish that you can expand on one idea or chop up the paragraphs to use as social media posts. Please check you document.
Click HERE for the reading
Click HERE for your writing document
BRITTANY LUSE, HOST:
Hey, you're listening to IT'S BEEN A MINUTE from NPR. I'm Brittany Luse. Today on the show, we want to celebrate a beloved icon we think deserves way more credit than she's been given. She's a goddess of fashion, a style muse, a mother of the rap game and the original Queen Bee, Lil' Kim.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CRUSH ON YOU")
LIL' KIM: (Rapping) Queen Bee, so you best take heed. Shall I proceed? Yes, indeed.
SCARLETT NEWMAN: I mean, she really set the stage for self-presentation and female rap.
LUSE: Scarlett Newman is a fashion and culture writer and someone I'm happy to call a friend. She's also a big fan of Lil' Kim.
How would you characterize Kim's long lasting fashion legacy?
NEWMAN: Artistic, unapologetic, wrote the playbook. I mean, she influenced a generation of young girls to high fashion brands. You know, that is a fashion icon.
LUSE: If you think about the biggest women rappers of our time - Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj - their style, that mix of attitude and high fashion, the multi-colored wigs, skyscraping heels, the logos everywhere, that all started with Lil' Kim.
Could you tell me about, like, your earliest memory of Lil' Kim?
NEWMAN: It's got to be that asymmetric VMA lavender bodysuit with the pasty. I mean, it was 1999, I believe. So that would - I would be about 9 years old. I remember watching her going on stage.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
LIL' KIM: I've always wanted to give props to some of the amazing - the most amazing female artists who have paved the way for us.
NEWMAN: And then Diana Ross reaches out and, like, bounces her breast, which has the matching pasty. And I'm like, oh, my gosh. This is unbelievable. I loved everything about it. And that secured my love for Kim as a fashion person.
(LAUGHTER)
LUSE: For me, my earliest memory of Lil' Kim is the "Get Money" video with Junior M.A.F.I.A. and Biggie.
NEWMAN: OK. Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GET MONEY")
LIL' KIM: (Rapping) Now you want to buy me diamonds and Armani suits, Adrienne Vittadini and Chanel 9 boots.
LUSE: She looked incredible in the video. She's got this really cute bob-length wig with, like, some blondish highlights.
NEWMAN: Yeah.
LUSE: She's got this, like, sexy red dress on and this really big, plump fur coat on. She looks incredible. And I was just like, OK, how do I get a lifestyle like this? (Laughter).
NEWMAN: I know. It's so aspirational. That's one of the biggest things is aspiration.
LUSE: Today we get into how Lil' Kim charmed the luxury design houses, got the biggest names in fashion to literally bow down, and pioneered the fusion of hip-hop and high fashion. Plus, we go through some of her most legendary fits - after a quick break.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
LUSE: Fashion has always been a part of hip-hop, but the high fashion world hasn't always wanted to be associated with hip-hop.
NEWMAN: Right.
LUSE: Talk to me about that.
NEWMAN: Well, yeah, designers weren't really embracing rappers. You know, it probably had a lot - little and a lot to do with racism. And then the image that rap stars were projecting wasn't necessarily aligning with the image that these luxury houses were interested in selling. So Kim was kind of the first one where these, you know, big upper echelon luxury houses were embracing her.
LUSE: What was it about her that made these designers want to work with her?
NEWMAN: I think because her established image was so high glam. I mean, it was high fashion without actually having the high fashions. So it's like if this young artist is already attaining an aesthetic that is so coveted by everyone, she looks fantastic, her star is on the rise, you know, what's not to like?
LUSE: It's interesting for suddenly these huge brands to be, you know, looking to her as this like high glam tastemaker when she originally kind of started out as somebody coming from the hip-hop world as an outsider.
NEWMAN: That's right. I mean, she was able to at one point establish very close and intimate relationships with these designers based on, you know, an aesthetic she had already created with her stylist, Misa Hylton, that sometimes did include designers, sometimes didn't include designer. A lot of the things in the beginning were actually Misa creations and not designer.
LUSE: And Misa, I mean, is like obviously a legend in her own right. She didn't just work with Lil' Kim. She also worked with Mary J. Blige in kind of creating that first lady of Bad Boy type of look that Mary J. and Kim had back in the '90s.
NEWMAN: Yeah, for sure. She was working with Jodeci. She was even working with Puff for a little bit. So that era, that real golden age of hip-hop, R&B, a lot of the look of that time can be attributed to Misa.
LUSE: So, you know, turning back to Kim, I want to play a little game with you that we like to call Tired, Wired or Inspired. And we're going to rate some of Lil' Kim's fashion moments.
NEWMAN: OK.
LUSE: So tired is like, done. I'm over it. I'm not into it anymore, ready to forget it. Wired is like, OK, I'm on board. I can get with this. And inspired is like, god tier.
NEWMAN: OK.
LUSE: Got it?
NEWMAN: I got it.
LUSE: OK.
LUSE: OK. So first look we're going to be chatting about - the 1999 Vogue Fashion Awards.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
LIL' KIM: Avant garde is French for, girl, what the hell are you wearing?
LUSE: Lil' Kim is wearing some beautiful see-through tulle pants and a bejeweled mask.
NEWMAN: Oh, my gosh. So I just have to speak about this look, because I remember Lil' Kim is on stage and Alexander McQueen is on stage.
LUSE: Yes.
NEWMAN: He's wearing, like, a kilt. And he's bowing down to her.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN: Oh, Kim.
NEWMAN: At that time, McQueen was like at the top of his game. And he's sitting there on his knees, bowing to the Queen Bee.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MCQUEEN: She's my idol.
NEWMAN: Like, he was - he's a huge Kim fan - huge. This is inspired.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) Hallelujah.
LUSE: I mean, she looks like the queen of the world in this photo. I mean, she's got the headpiece. She just looks like she's floating. She's got the mink, the stole. I mean, she looks like a fairy princess. This is very inspired. This is god tier for Kim for sure.
LUSE: A hundred percent agree. It's so funny. I'm like, I feel like I took these looks for granted (laughter) when I was growing up.
NEWMAN: Oh, totally.
LUSE: I look at this now, and I'm like, I wish. I mean, she looks perfect. She looks like a showgirl. She looks like Barbarella. It's all happening at once, head to toe sparkle.
NEWMAN: Yeah, absolutely.
LUSE: OK. Now we are going to look at another look of Kim's from the 2002 Grammy Awards. Lil' Kim is wearing a Chanel red and white biker look complete with a Chanel biker helmet. She's got the red and white outfit. She's also got the red hair.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Tell us a little bit about your outfit here. What inspired this? Do you ride?
LIL' KIM: You know, yeah. Well, I ride on the back.
NEWMAN: Listen. This is wired, honey.
NEWMAN: She was giving Motomami before Rosalia could say her first words. I mean, who's carrying a motorcycle helmet on the Grammy Award carpet? Never seen anything like that before. The Chanel - Kim loves Chanel. I think Chanel is probably her top brand, so it just makes too much sense. Karl Lagerfeld loved Kim, embraced Kim. He was one of the ones that told her, hey, I'm designing collections around you. So Kim and - any Kim and Chanel is wired, 10 out of 10 for me.
LUSE: (Laughter) Wait. Would you say wired or would you say inspired? Ten out of 10 I feel like, is inspired. You can choose inspired again.
NEWMAN: Yeah. It's inspired, but also wired because it's like - I'm wired. This is relevant. Like, this was iconic in the past. It's just - it's everything. It's - yes.
LUSE: OK, so now - looking at one more look. Lil' Kim monogrammed her hair with Versace, this beautiful Versace logo is on a gorgeous blonde wig. I mean, hair is not like paper.
NEWMAN: No.
LUSE: It's not the most stable material to be working on if you want to preserve an image. And yet, this is absolutely perfect. What do you think, Scarlett?
NEWMAN: Yeah. So this platinum wig with the Versace Greek keys going down the bang and the sides. This is inspired. Like, who is doing this? Who is thinking about this? I mean, this wig was designed by Deon Alexander, who designed a similar one for her that had a Chanel logo on it. And it was with a stencil cut out and magic marker.
LUSE: What?
NEWMAN: I mean, it looks...
LUSE: No way.
NEWMAN: This looks like it's thousands and thousands of dollars. No, she'd cut out on tracing paper - and you can imagine how thin tracing paper is - cut out these Versace Greek keys. And that's an intricate pattern. Set it on top of the wig, took a magic marker, did her thing, and history was made. This is inspired.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) Hallelujah.
NEWMAN: Like, come on.
LUSE: Oh, my gosh. I can't - I'm never going to get over the fact this is done with magic marker. This is perfect.
NEWMAN: Oh, yeah.
LUSE: Literally, everything about this was perfect.
NEWMAN: I know.
LUSE: You know, it's funny how you can see all these looks being remade and recycled by the leading ladies of today.
NEWMAN: That's right.
LUSE: And, you know, like you mentioned, like, you can't help but see someone like Rosalia on the cover of "Motomami." Where else do you see Kim's fashion legacy shining through today?
NEWMAN: For sure, the strongest is among this burgeoning class of rap girls. I mean, we have Caresha and JT of City Girls, like you mentioned, Cardi B, who, you know, paid direct homage in a Louis Vuitton sprayed logo hairpiece, Latto, and honestly, even a veteran like Nicki Minaj, I mean, Fendi prints on. I can't - Nicki is heavily associated with Fendi. A lot of these girls are very logo forward in the same way that Kim was. It's so aspirational. It's like you see these logos on me. You see me. I'm spending money on this or the designer is sending to me directly. I mean, Kim is mother at this point for sure.
LUSE: Coming up, how Kim's style was way ahead of her time and still underappreciated today.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
LUSE: I can't help but think about Lil' Kim and her relationship to fashion without thinking about her relationship with the designer Marc Jacobs.
NEWMAN: Yes.
LUSE: They were extremely close. I remember when Kim was on trial for perjury in 2005. And she was accused of lying to a grand jury to protect friends who were involved in a shooting. And Marc Jacobs dressed her for court. And that's just like the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their relationship. Talk to me about them together. Like, how did the two of them become so close?
NEWMAN: Well, Marc was certainly one of the first designers to really embrace Kim, and they are established this really strong rapport off the bat. And it, you know, it wasn't just benefit by association. Like, these two were very - they were good friends. Like, she's told stories about how she would go to the Italia (ph) and bring Marc lunch for the day. And Marc would take her to the warehouses and show her about garment construction and teach her about like how the industry works and how collections come together. So I believe it was just a mutual - between the two, like you said, they're still very close. If you ever look on either of their Instagrams, like, they're always commenting like hearts and kisses to each other.
LUSE: I mean, even like, it wasn't even just that he kept in touch with her when she was in prison. Like, he would send her pictures that he had drawn. He really found creative ways to stay in contact with her even through what was probably a challenging time.
NEWMAN: Yeah. And during that same time, Marc Jacobs became the creative director/designer for Louis Vuitton. And, you know, Kim loves the labels, so she was always getting LV gifts from him in addition to Marc Jacobs. So I love their relationship.
LUSE: You know, something I keep thinking about as we're discussing, like, some of Kim's greatest hits in the fashion department is how many of these photos of Lil' Kim's outfits would end up on those worst dressed lists.
NEWMAN: Oh, my gosh.
LUSE: You remember? Whether it was E Fashion or People magazine or whoever...
NEWMAN: Totally.
LUSE: ...Kim was always on those, or at least very, very, very frequently. It was rare to find her on a best dressed list, but it was not an unusual occasion to see her on the worst dressed list.
NEWMAN: Right. So I think it obviously says that she was eons ahead of what anybody could even imagine. I mean, that always happens in pop culture. Like, if we don't understand it right then and there, it's just deemed as bad or ugly. But now Kim is on everybody's mood boards. And, you know, things that maybe we couldn't understand back then have a certain timelessness that applies to now in the way that people want to dress. I just hope that one day that she will receive that CFDA Icon Award, because she certainly deserves it. I mean, it's...
LUSE: Hold on. Wait. You mean like the industry stamp of influence from the Council of Fashion Designers of America? She hasn't won one.
NEWMAN: No.
LUSE: Rihanna has one.
NEWMAN: Right.
LUSE: Kim Kardashian has one.
NEWMAN: Beyonce has one, which is a little strange. Love her down, but she doesn't have that type of influence on fashion, in my opinion, in the way that Kim does.
LUSE: And I also feel like Beyonce is an acolyte of Kim's fashion wise. She's paid homage to some of Kim's iconic looks through her Halloween costume tributes that she likes to do from time to time.
NEWMAN: Yeah.
LUSE: Yeah. So I don't think that that's out of line to say. And yet.
NEWMAN: And yet.
LUSE: No CFDA Icon Award.
NEWMAN: No. And it's like everything lines up for Kim on paper. I mean, just objectively speaking, this person should have been a recipient for this award. I mean, you have Karl Lagerfeld - again, McQueen, Marc Jacobs, Giorgio Armani speaking it out that this person has influenced my collections. And I hate that it has to be in the hands of the CFDA, but she deserves that. Like, who deserves it more?
LUSE: Yeah, those are my thoughts exactly.
NEWMAN: And it's so funny because any time the CFDA Awards and the nominations roll around, there's always a campaign for Kim, which is great. I'm glad that the fans take to Twitter and Instagram and rally for her every single year and give the receipts and give the quotes from the designers. But is it overdue? A hundred percent.
LUSE: You and I are 100% in alignment on that. I know, like, we need to get Kim this award, OK?
(LAUGHTER)
NEWMAN: We do. We do. I mean, come on. What's it going to take?
LUSE: Well, Scarlett, thank you so much for joining us today on IT'S BEEN A MINUTE. It was so great to have you. And look. Any time I get to talk about Lil' Kim and fashion is a good day for me.
NEWMAN: Yes. Thank you so much for having me. It's been a great, great pleasure.
LUSE: That was culture and fashion writer Scarlett Newman. I've been reflecting in the days since our conversation and the fact that Lil' Kim has never been properly recognized by the CFDA has become a point of irritation for me. But when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. It's rare for a groundbreaking Black woman to be rewarded by an institution in her time. Even Beyonce has never won a Grammy for Album of the Year. But still, it'd be nice to see Lil' Kim finally get her due from an industry over which she's had so much influence. So consider this my vote.
This episode of IT'S BEEN A MINUTE was produced by Barton Girdwood and Jessica Mendoza. It was edited by Jessica Placzek. Our fact-checkers were Zazil Davis-Vazquez and Barclay Walsh. Engineering support came from Carly Strange (ph). Thanks for listening, everybody. I'm your host, Britney Luse. Talk soon.