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Lil Kim - Celebrities at Paris Fashion Week

Rapper Lil’ Kim is a legend and for many reasons. Sadly, her shocking physical transformation over the years has in some ways overshadowed her legacy and called into question her feelings about being Black. The latest video from the Queen Bee only adds to these suspicions.

In a clip posted to her fan page Lil’ Kim Royal, Kim is heard speaking with someone behind the camera about her ethnic identity. “You know, I’m a Spanish girl trapped in a Black girl’s body,” she says jokingly. “But I’m all mixed up.” From there, Kim recites the lyrics of a song in Spanish with a pretty impeccable accent.

Though on the surface Lil’ Kim appears to only be kidding around, it’s quite difficult to ignore Kim’s choice to erase her black identity given what she’s had to say about being black in the past. Case in point: take her Newsweek article from 2000, In it, Lil’ Kim discussed how competing with Eurocentric beauty standards as a young woman made her feel unworthy.

“I have low self-esteem and I always have,” she says. “Guys always cheated on me with women who were European-looking. You know, the long-hair type. Really beautiful women that left me thinking, ‘How I can I compete with that?’ Being a regular black girl wasn’t good enough.” 

Well that definitely explains it. Watch the video below and let us know your thoughts:

SOURCE: Newsweek, Lil Kim Royal fanpage | IMAGE CREDIT: Getty, Twitter

Problematic?: Lil’ Kim Says She’s A Latina Trapped In A Black Girl’s Body  was originally published on globalgrind.com