After a fourteen year hiatus, Lil Kim returned to the rap game two weeks ago with her fifth studio album, 9. As part of her press tour promoting the project, the queen stopped by Billboard to participate in their video segment, "Fishing For Answers." One of the questions she pulled from a bowl asked her to share her favourite memory from shooting "Lady Marmalade."
The Grammy-winning remake of Patti Labelle's 1971 song became a classic in its own right. Four of the early 2000's biggest female powerhouses - Lil Kim, Mya, Christina Aguilera and Pink - were brought together to produce a cut for the Moulin Rouge soundtrack and it took on a life that was much greater than the movie. It stays in rotation to this day and everyone tends to consider it as a peak cultural moment of this century.
However, apparently things on set for the song's iconic music video were not as idyllic as some might imagine. In the Billboard video, Lil Kim recalled things being a bit uncomfortable due to the artists having never met before and coming from different corners of the industry. “We worked really hard that day,” Kim said. “I remember there was a little tension because, you know, Mya’s my girl … but a lot of the girls didn’t know each other. I knew almost everybody, but it was like everyone was in their own little corner. Everybody talked to me, but everybody else wasn’t talking to each other. Everybody loved each other, don’t get me wrong, but they didn’t know each other, so it was like, ‘let me talk to Kim, because I know Kim.’ It was hard ‘cuz I had to be the host of ‘Lady Marmalade.’”
While things may have been tense while shooting the music video, Kim said that the group's Grammy performance of "Lady Marmalade" was tons of fun.