MUSIC: Lil Kim's "Respirator"

The last time I downloaded or purchased a song, 2003's "The Jump Off," by the 32-year-old Brooklyn rapper Lil Kim her face wasn't re-etched by a plastic sturgeon and her breasts looked relatively real. It's a little hard to take the girl seriously when she looks like a product of Hollywood--botoxed, tucked, lifted, and injected--instead of a victim of the ghetto and a symbol of feminity within gangster rap. The record she released after...being released from prison, The Naked Truth, didn't exactly sweep the radio stations, so it's clear that she needs a little PR boost--a little more than having a cameo in Sex in the City: The Movie. However, after listening to her latest single "Respirator," I appreciate her attempt to try something different and just might give her the benefit of the doubt. Listen for yourself: