Hard Core

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hard Core
Studio album by Lil' Kim
Released	November 12, 1996
Recorded	1995-1996 The Hit Factory, NYC
Genre	East Coast hip hop Hardcore rap
Length	49:12
Label	Undeas/Big Beat
Producer	Sean "Puffy" Combs Jermaine Dupri Andreao "Fanatic" Heard Christopher "B.I.G." Wallace Carlos "6 July" Broady Stevie J. Ski
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Entertainment Weekly (A) link RapReviews.com link
Lil' Kim chronology
Hard Core (1996) The Notorious K.I.M. (2000) Singles from Hard Core "No Time" Released: 1996 "Crush on You" Released: 1997 "Not Tonight (Remix)" Released: 1997

Hard Core is the debut album of rapper Lil' Kim, released on November 12, 1996 on the Big Beat label, a subsidiary of Atlantic. It was principally recorded at the legendary Manhattan-based recording studio, The Hit Factory.^[1] The album was notable for its overt sexual tone and Kim's lyrical delivery, which was praised by music critics soon after its release.^[2]

Contents 1 Release and reception 2 Track listing 3 Samples 4 Unreleased/ Unused Songs 5 Chart Performance 5.1 Album 5.2 Singles 6 References

[edit] Release and reception

After making her debut recording appearance on Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s Conspiracy album, Lil' Kim appeared on records by artists such as Mona Lisa, the Isley Brothers, and Total, until recording her debut album, Hard Core, at the Hit Factory in New York City. Working with a number of producers, including Sean "Puffy" Combs and Jermaine Dupri, the album featured edgy hardcore rap and explicit sexuality, as the title suggested, which at the time were two territories that had long been the province of male rappers.^[3] Guest artists included Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., and other members of Junior M.A.F.I.A..^[4] The marketing campaign for the album featured provocative advertisements of Kim dressed in a skimpy bikini and furs, including the album cover.^[5] Released on November 12, 1996, Hard Core became an immediate hit, debuting at #11 on the Billboard 200 chart. The first single from the album, "No Time", a duet with Sean "Puffy" Combs, became a number one rap single.^[6] The album quickly garnered positive reviews, as The Source called the album "...a solid debut because phat beats and rhymes are really all it takes, and they're both present...", while Rolling Stone magazine included Hard Core in its list of "Essential Recordings of the 90's".^[7] Rolling Stone concluded in reviewing the album in the magazine's 2004 version of the Rolling Stone Album Guide^[8]:

Hip-hop had never seen anything like Brooklynite Kimberly Jones at the time of her solo debut: She single-handedly raised the bar for raunchy lyrics in hip-hop, making male rappers quiver with fear with
lines like "You ain't lickin' this, you ain't stickin' this . . . I don't want dick tonight/Eat my pussy right" ("Not Tonight").

Riding the wing of Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die and Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt, Kim's Hard Core helped put East Coast hip-hop back on top in the late '90s. The album's overreliance on old '70s funk
samples doesn't detract a bit from the Queen Bee's fearless rhymes: In "Dreams," she demands service from R. Kelly, Babyface, and nearly every "R&B dick" in the field. A landmark of bold, hilarious filth.

"Not Tonight" was nominated in 1998 for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The album was certified platinum on June 3, 1997 and then multi-platinum on March 14, 2001,^[9] selling over two million copies and making Kim the first female rapper to have a multi-platinum album.^[10]

[edit] Track listing

1. "Intro in A-Minor" – 2:14
2. "Big Momma Thang" (featuring Jay-Z & Lil' Cease) – 4:17
3. "No Time" (featuring Puff Daddy) – 5:00
4. "Spent a Little Doe" – 5:35
5. "Take It! (Interlude)" – 0:46
6. "Crush On You" (featuring Lil' Cease & Notorious B.I.G.) – 4:35
7. "Drugs" (featuring Notorious B.I.G.) – 4:20
8. "Scheamin' (Interlude)" – 0:49
9. "Queen Bitch" – 3:17
10. "Dreams" – 4:39
11. "M.A.F.I.A. Land" – 4:37
12. "We Don't Need It" (Featuring Trife & Lil' Cease) 4:10
13. "Not Tonight" (featuring Jermaine Dupri) – 4:31
14. "Player Haters (Interlude)" – 0:53
15. "Fuck You" (featuring Junior M.A.F.I.A.) – 2:53
16. "Not Tonight (Remix)" (featuring Da Brat, Angie Martinez, Missy Elliott & Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes) - 4:14 (bonus track)

[edit] Samples

Big Mama Thang

• "Was It Something I Said" by Sylvester

No Time

• "Message from the Soul Sisters" by Vicki Anderson

Crush on You

• "Down Home Girl" by The Coasters

Drugs

• "Bumpies Lament" by Sylvester

Queen Bitch

• "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" by Roberta Flack

Dreams

• "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins

M.A.F.I.A. Land

• "Only a Fool" by Bert Kaempfert

We Don't Need It

• "Ode to Billie Joe" by Lou Donaldson

Not Tonight(Remix)

• "Ladies Night" by Kool & the Gang

Not Tonight(original version)

• "Turn Your Love Around" by George Benson

[edit] Unreleased/ Unused Songs

• "Queen Bitch Remix (featuring Aaliyah)"
• "Big Momma Thang (Original Version w/0 Jay-Z)"
• "Street Dreams (Original Version of the Big Momma Thang track)"

[edit] Chart Performance

[edit] Album

Chart (1996)	Position
Billboard Top 200	11
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	1
Top Canadian Albums	9

[edit] Singles

Year	Song	Chart positions
		Billboard Hot 100	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	Hot Rap Singles
1997	"No Time"	#18	#9	#1
1997	"Not Tonight"	#6	#3	#2
1997	"Crush On You"	#52	#9	-

[edit] References