; their debut album, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[23] The album's lead single "No Time", a duet with Combs, reached the top spot of the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart[16] and was certified gold by the RIAA.

A remix of the album's track "Not Tonight" saw Lil' Kim team up with Missy Elliott, Angie Martinez, Da Brat, and Left Eye of TLC with the song peaking at 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

's best friend, Damion "D-Roc" Butler's "Roc Management", touring and modeling for various fashion and pop culture companies including Candie's, Versace, Iceberg, and Baby Phat.

[29] Her outfit at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards received widespread media attention, fueled by the "shocked" response of presenter Diana Ross, who approached and jiggled Kim's exposed breast on national television.

[36] A buzz single, "Came Back For You", was released ahead of the album, the music video for the song featured reality television personality Victoria Gotti.

The show followed the group as they set sail to embark on a 10-day cruise in the Caribbean, visiting the countries of Barbados and Trinidad just in time for Carnival festivities.

In 2000, Lil' Kim signed a deal with fashion house Iceberg,[112] and also with cosmetics brand MAC to help endorse their VIVA GLAM line of lipsticks and lip glosses alongside Mary J.

[123] In November 2012, Lil' Kim began endorsing Cîroc vodka, revealing her own cocktail, "Queen Bee“, and announcing herself as the "First Lady" of the brand.

The event helped raise more than $100,000 for "Racing for Kids“, a non-profit program benefiting Southern California children's hospitals in Long Beach and Orange County.

Each artist was approached by contestants to donate a "personal experience" to be auctioned off for charity through music channel Fuse's "Daily Download" program, with proceeds going to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

[140] In 2007 Lil' Kim was a part of the 4th Annual Grammy Charity Holiday Auction, featuring a large variety of celebrity-signed memorabilia that people could bid on through eBay.

[141] On December 1, 2007, Lil' Kim partnered with Preserve Our Legacy and the New Jersey Stem Cell Research and Education Foundation to host a celebrity basketball game to raise awareness about various health issues plaguing minority communities.

[157][158] On June 20, 2003, Jones had $250,000 worth of jewelry stolen while catching a flight at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport after a bag, which she intended to carry on, was mixed up with eight other pieces of her luggage.

[165] During the trial of her co-manager, Damion "D-Roc" Butler, and her bodyguard, Suif "Gutta" Jackson, a former member of the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A., she testified before a grand jury that she did not know they were at the scene.

[173] Their initial breakup was somewhat contentious, with Lil' Kim claiming that he was a domestic abuser and Mr. Papers alternatively dissing her and performing somber freestyle raps lamenting the circumstances and lack of access to Royal.

[178] Once high school friends, Lil' Kim and fellow Brooklyn rapper Foxy Brown originally remained close despite becoming associates of clashing hip hop groups Junior M.A.F.I.A.

[190] Additionally, Lil' Kim's guest appearance on the remix version of Mobb Deep's song "Quiet Storm" and her second album's title track, "The Notorious K.I.M“., were both released as diss records aimed at Foxy Brown.

[181] In the track, Brown mimicked Lil' Kim's interpretation of MC Lyte's famous disstrack "10% Dis", and went on to recite: "You and Diddy y'all kill me with that subliminal shit“.

[218] A fragment of Minaj's diss track "Tragedy" was released online in April 2011, featuring lyrics "Pink Friday, Eminem, 8 Mile/ It must hurt to sell your album on PayPal“.

[219] Following the release of Minaj's second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, critics suggested that the tracks "Stupid Hoe"[220] may have contained attacks at Lil' Kim.

However, this wasn't always the case, and there's arguably one woman to thank -- Lil' Kim ... Before she came out, it was argued that sexy women in hip hop were exploited by the industry, reduced to mere video girls cast to dance around the male breadwinner.

Kim reversed this notion, announcing her arrival to hip hop with a provocative promo poster that saw her clad in a leopard print bikini and matching feather-trimmed robe.

[227] Lil' Kim's music catalog features undertones of sex-positive feminism and the importance of female pleasure, instead of the man as the "dominant priority“, through explicit lyrics about sex.

[228] In 2000, Los Angeles Times writer Isaac Guzman wrote that her debut solo album created a path for a new wave of female rappers, with her at the forefront of her generation, and established her as "the raunchiest, hardest, sexiest, most glamorous woman in all of hip-hop“.

[233] Placing Hard Core at number 80 on their list of "Best Rap Albums of the 90s“, Complex magazine stated, "when Lil Kim released her debut album—women in hip-hop finally had options, paths to follow and models [...] she was the raunchiest woman you ever heard on the mic“.

[234] The Village Voice writer Joan Morgan contended that the album "transformed her into a cultural icon“, opining that it put an emphasis on sex appeal, looks, and packaging as a priority for female rappers.

[10] A replica of the money nails she wore has been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art alongside other notable fashion items such as the Wonderbra and red lipstick.

[10] Some artists who have named Kim as influence include Rihanna,[240] Cardi B,[241] Megan Thee Stallion,[242] Kash Doll,[243] Bree Runway,[244] Teyana Taylor,[245] Doja Cat,[246] Rosalía,[247] Hitmaka,[248] Casanova,[248] Spice,[248] Zaytoven,[248] Stefflon Don,[249] Flo Milli,[250] Nicki Minaj,[251] Ivorian Doll,[252] Cupcakke,[253] Saweetie,[254] Ice Spice,[255] Miley Cyrus,[256][257] Iggy Azalea,[258] Ms Banks,[259] Lola Brooke,[260] Jhené Aiko,[261] City Girls,[262] DreamDoll,[263] Latto,[264] and Erica Banks.

In June 2018, Lil' Kim was honored with a proclamation by the New York City Council's Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus (BLAC) as part of the annual African-American Music Appreciation Month for her contributions to hip-hop.