Lil Kim Inks Deal With Three Olives Vodka [With Pictures & Interview]
Yesterday (June 8th) Lil Kim took time out of her busy touring schedule to a photo shoot with Three Olives Vodka, which is the newest edition to Vodka’s 18 signature flavors. During the photo shoot, YRB did an interview with Kim and she talked about how she became involved in the campaign, her promo tour, fashion line, album and new book.
NEXT PAGE: LILÂ KIM EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH YRB
YRB: Lilâ Kim has become a brand, and youâve pretty much transcended Hip-Hop. Was that something you predicted back when you first picked up a mic?
Lilâ Kim: Well, I always knew that I was different. I always knew that I wasnât going to come into the industry and just be labeled as a âfemale rapper.â I never even saw myself as just a female rapper, because I know that one thing I do very well is entertain. My mama always told me that, ever since I was a little girl. I would put on her shoes and put on her lipstick and stand in front of the mirror with my brush singing. I always knew that when I came into the industry I would elevate. I didnât know a lot of the things that came to me would come. I thank God for it; I feel blessed. I can only be myself and do what I do the best. So yeah if that means something as wonderful and gracious as Three Olives Vodka comes my way, Iâm gonna jump on it because thatâs the direction I want to go in. I want to be universal, and thatâs the one thing I feel also about Three Olives vodka is that everyone can enjoy it. Except for those who canât drink⊠under 18 [Laughs].
YRB: Do these opportunities come to you, or do you search them out?
Lilâ Kim: Fortunately enough, this opportunity came to me. [Three Olives] built the campaign around me, which I thought was really great. That was really awesome. I was really honored. I was amazed they even thought of me. That was [number] one. A lot of times my management finds things, but I would say 90% out of 100%, these things come to me. Iâm blessed.Â
YRB: What other areas do you want to get into as a spokesperson? Youâve done MAC, Louis Vuitton, Old Navy, etc.
Lilâ Kim: Iâve done a lot of things, and⊠I donât know⊠A couple of hair products have reached out to me. Whatever comes my way, Iâll do it. I donât want to do something typical, and I donât know if Iâd ever want to do like a cigarette thing, but I donât know. Anything that I feel represents where Iâm going at the time, I would probably jump on it.
YRB: Do you feel like this is your vodka? Everybody in Hip-Hop now has their own brandâŠ
Lilâ Kim:Â I know, right? I do! Because purple is such a royal color, and Iâm the Queen Bee! Purple is very royal, and grape is a nice fruity flavor that I think everyone will enjoy. When you think of popsicles, you think of grape and cherry â the first two colors.Â
YRB: A lot of female rappers arenât given this opportunity to cross over into other markets the way you have, with luxury items representing them. How does that feel, being able to be that face. When you first came out, you came out as a luxury rapper, demanding the finer things in life from the get go. A lot of people dream about walking into Louis Vuitton and say âdecorate meâ the way you canâŠ
Lilâ Kim:Â To be honest with you, I just feel blessed that it happened that way. I really believe that when I came into the industry, we werenât looking for that. I always knew that I was different like I said, but I never knew that Iâd be best friend with Marc Jacobs. Iâm just blessed to have these kinds of opportunities. Donatella [Versace] calling me to do her ad with her in it. Thatâs just like something thatâs a blessing. You donât have to be a supermodel to know how to wear the clothes and not have the clothes wear you. I think thatâs what the designers are impressed with when it comes to me. Itâs nice, itâs fun!
YRB: You were looking into doing a fashion line. What happened with that?
Lilâ Kim: Weâre still looking to do that, but I had put my career on hold for a minute as far as doing music and everything. I wanted to kind of wait until everything came back out â like around now while Iâm on my promo tour, getting ready to release my new single, and go back in the studio and do what I do â we kind of wanted to wait and release everything togetherâŠalong with my new book. I have my new book; itâs called The Price Of Loyalty â how ironic, right? Itâs with St. Martinâs Press. We want to launch everything together so the fans have something to continuously pick up. It tells a story. A lot of times my story gets cut short [laughs].
YRB: You mentioned your new single. When is that coming?
Lilâ Kim: JulyâŠweâre hoping and praying!
Interview and Pictures Credit: YRB