Lil' Kim squeezes into too small hotpants and cropped jacket to launch new mixtape

The spotlight may have dimmed since she burst onto the rap scene as a member of Biggie Smalls’ notorious Junior M.A.F.I.A  in the mid-nineties, but Lil' Kim proved she still has the power to grab her audience’s attention by the scruff of the neck when she took to the stage in a raunchy leather outfit on Tuesday night. 

The 39-year old was making what amounted to a comeback performance at The Box nightclub as she prepares for the release of new mixtape Hardcore 2K13: Back 2 Da Streets – her first fresh material in eight-years. 

Wearing a cropped leather and suede jacket with very tight fitting leather hot-pants adorned with chains, Kim inevitably caught the eye as she worked her way through a lively set at the event, where she was appearing as a special guest. 

 Kim’s performance was provided as support for influential American DJ Coleman, whose forthcoming single The Box – inspired by his residency at The Box nightclub in New York and London  - was officially released this week.
The feisty rapper’s new mixtape will see her return to her nineties roots by reviving the old cover art for 1995 debut album Hard Core.

 That album went double platinum following its debut at number eleven on the US Billboard 200 – the highest entry for a female rap album at the time – after selling more than 78,000 copies in its first week of release.
Significantly for Kim she climbed to number one on the Rap Chart with three tracks from the long player - No Time, Not Tonight (Ladies Night remix) and Crush on You.
She also climbed to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 with Christina Aguilera, Pink and Mya collaboration Lady Marmalade in 2001 – a feat that is yet to be equalled by another female rapper.

 The star has previously been critical of the changes to rap in the years following the release of last album The Naked Truth in 1995, but she recently admitted during an interview with the Guardian that she can still identify with some of the current crop.
She said: ‘I love Rihanna because I see a lot of Rihanna in me and a lot of me in Rihanna. Miley (Cyrus) and I have clicked.
‘She told me that the two artists she’s ever wanted to collaborate with are me and Dolly Parton.’