Time Capsule From 1997: bell hooks Interviews Lil’ Kim

In honor of Kim’s 40th birthday last Friday, Paper Magazine republished this absolute gem, in which bell hooks writes:

Young, pretty and sweet — just plain old-fashioned feminine — Lil’ Kim has the kind of innocence it’s possible to work with and work over. It’s always folks who’ve never been on the streets, who have never known down-and-out-nowhere-to-go, who believe innocence can’t be found there. But it can, and Lil’ Kim embodies it, having done her time on the streets. Her “real life” sex thing is just about pure and simple delight in the body. But when it comes to how the boys in charge package her, it’s the same old shit — boring straight male porn fantasy.

More dangerous than any words that come out of Lil’ Kim’s mouth are the forces of repressive puritanical morality that seek to silence her.

The interview is glorious, open-ended straight talk:

bh: What was your line on Hardcore, “Take it up the butt”? Don’t be funnin’. What do you think about that?

LK: I think it’s real.

The rest of it up here.