After 14 years of waiting, Lil’ Kim has finally revealed that her new album, 9, will finally be released later this week.
Just over a month ago, Tool ended a 13-year wait for new music by finally releasing their fifth studio album, Fear Inoculum. While this was indeed a long-awaited record, fans in the hip-hop community turned their attention to Lil’ Kim, who had been teasing the release of her first new album since 2005.
Having released her debut back in 1996, Lil’ Kim unleashed her amazing The Naked Truth record back in 2005, with the album dropping on the same day as her sentencing on perjury charges.
While it wasn’t a massive commercial success, it was well-received by critics, and remains the only record by a female artist to have been given a perfect review by The Source.
However, after a handful of mixtapes, singles, and guest appearances over the years, Lil’ Kim revealed earlier this year that her fifth album, 9, would finally see the light of day in May. Sadly, this date came and went with fans wondering if it would ever arrive.
Speaking to Billboard last year, Kim explained that the reason she was taking such a long time to release music was due to her perfectionist nature.
“Everything is a masterpiece to me; everything is a project I handle with delicacy and care,” she explained. “I don’t care if my fans say I take a little bit of time. I don’t wanna wait too long, because nobody’s gonna wait forever, but the bottom line is I don’t wanna give nobody no bullshit.
“Even if you didn’t like it, at least know I put my heart and soul into it. I didn’t just give you something to eat that I just bought from the store and put it in the microwave like you just said. I’m really cookin’.”
Check out Lil’ Kim’s ‘Go Awff’:
Now, as Rolling Stone reports, 9 is set to formally be released on October 11th, with the artist releasing her latest single, ‘Pray For Me’, to celebrate.
“I’m so proud of this album and I thank my fans for their continued support,” Lil’ Kim explained in a statement. “Let’s keep this party going!”
‘Pray For Me’ follows the release of tracks such as ‘Go Awff’ and ‘Found You’, meaning that only six songs on the record will actually be new to fans.
However, it seems as though there will be even more new music on the way, with the rapper revealing last week that there will be another album released in the near future.
Speaking at the reunion special for Girl’s Cruise (via HotNewHipHop), Lil’ Kim noted that “I recorded so many songs. I have a part one and a part two,” when discussing her new album.
It’s not clear when we’ll receive this next album, but whatever the case, this week is looking pretty good for fans of hip-hop.
Check out ‘Pray For Me’ by Lil’ Kim:
