As if Lil Kim and her lawyers don’t have enough to worry about, The diminutive rapper already faces a whopping 20 years in prison when she’s sentenced in June for lying to a grand jury. Now, the hip-hop diva known as the Queen B has been stung by a lawsuit. She is being targeted by two singer-songwriters who claim she failed to compensate them for cowriting and appearing on tracks on her 2003 album, La Bella Mafia
The complaint, filed Monday in New York State Supreme Court and first reported by Celebrity Justice, refers to the rapper by her legal name, Kimberly Jones. It says she breached a deal to pay Anthony Jeffries and Vincent Hart $15,000 each for contributing vocals to “The Beehive” following the recording of the cut in November 2002.
The suit also asserts the pint-sized hip-hopster dissed the duo by failing to cough up an addition sum of $10,000 each plus royalties for cowriting three songs on the disc: “Hold It Now,” “The Jump Off” and “Can You Hear Me Now.”
Finally, Jeffries and Hart claim that in December 2002, the Jewlry-happy Lil’ Kim gave the two pricey bling-bling valued at $10,000, but then, in July 2003, demanded “under a threat of physical violence” they return the gifts, which they did. The two men are seeking at least $100,000 in damages. Lil’ Kim’s publicist could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Of course, the breach of contract suit is the least of Kim’s worries. In March, the 29-year-old was found guilty of federal purjury charges for fibbing to a grand jury about a 2001 shoot-out at a Manhattan radio station involving members of her entrourage and a rival hip-hop crew.
Now that she could spend up to 20 years in the slammer, Lil’ Kim has launched an email campaign urging fans to write letters to the judge asking for him to go easy on her at her June 24 sentencing.
“Do not criticize the justice system. Do not criticize the judge. Do not criticize the verdict. Do not criticize the court case or mention it in any way. Do not give opinions on what her sentence should be, simply ask for leniency,” she says on LilKim.com. “It is very much appreciated, welcoming and gratifying during my time in need.