Throwback Thursday: Lil’ Kim – “Crush on You” (featuring Lil’ Cease)

Throwback Thursday: Lil’ Kim – “Crush on You” (featuring Lil’ Cease)

Of all the things Lil’ Kim has done in her iconic 23-year career, nothing stands out quite like “Crush on You.” I want to call it mid-’90s hip-hop excellence or even just hip-hop excellence, but the song is so much more: it is pure musical magic, no genre qualifiers needed.

The song was released this week in 1997 as the second single from Lil’ Kim’s debut album, Hardcore, and is as fresh today as it was back then. The beat, which samples the Jeff Lorber Fusion’s “Rain Dance” — sans horns and with a lot more bass — is one of those that take over your body. It is literally irresistible and you should not trust anyone who hears it and doesn’t move at least a little bit. Also, the bars. THE BARS. God bless Cam’ron because he DID THAT.

Yes, Cam’ron wrote all of Lil’ Cease’s lyrics in what was a subcontract from Mase, who had been tapped to ghostwrite five songs for Lil’ Cease. The official songwriting credits only lists Jeff Lorber, Lil’ Cease and Andreao Heard, but the song’s Wikipedia page lists Lil’ Kim, Biggie, Mase, Cam’ron and Jeff Lorber — no Lil’ Cease, no Andreao Heard.

The song was actually meant for Lil’ Cease, but ended up being a Lil’ Kim song; however, due to an unexpected pregnancy, she was unable to lay down her verses at the time it was being recorded, so the song appears on her album with just Lil’ Cease’s verses and Biggie on the chorus. The video version, however, has Kim on there rapping modified versions of some of Cease’s verses.

Now…the video. THE VIDEO. There are few artists that are as in their bag as Lil’ Kim is in the “Crush on You” video. Rocking colorful wigs and talking all of her shit, Lil’ Kim created a new template for the female rapper that can still be seen today — and I’m not just talking about Nicki.

Like every good rap video from the ’90s, this one also has cameos from a few famous faces, namely Aaliyah, Uncle Luke and Sheek Louch.

This video is history. This song is history. Click play.

2 Comments

Post A Comment