Lil Kim has been a beast in the hip-hop industry, known for her mind-blowing albums like “The Naked Truth” (2005), “Hard Core” (1996), “La Bella Mafia” (2003) and “The Notorious K.I.M.” (2000).

Kim knows about her impact on the hip-hop and rap industry, opening doors for other female rappers, but she’s too humble to speak about it with others. However, she’s appreciative and honored that many see her as an icon.

“Everyone calls me an icon, and it’s an honor to me,” she said in an exclusive interview with XXL Magazine, which featured her on its magazine cover to celebrate 50 years of hip hop. “It makes me smile. It makes me happy to know that people look at me that way because I never really saw that for myself, but it just happened organically, and this is my place in hip-hop.”

Starting her rap career at 16, Kim didn’t think it would take off like it did. She saw it as fun and something she loved to do.

“I didn’t really see that this was gonna be a career for me because I was just this kid having fun,” Lil Kim shared. “Everyone knows I started when I was 16, so it’s like when they were making a bug fuss — hair, nails, and makeup — all that done at the same time, I was like, ‘This is what’s going on?’ But it was just like…I was just walking, you know? And wherever God was taking me, that’s where I was going.”

In addition to doing something she loved, she appreciated having people like The Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie) and Sean “Puffy” Combs in her corner, guiding her.

Now, she’s a rap and hip-hop legend who opened doors for women who rap today. Lil Kim said she loved seeing more female representation in the industry.

“I’m glad to see all of us women, you know, getting our recognition and everybody making us equal,” she said. “I’m so glad to see women getting our recognition and, you know, everyone celebrating us. I think it’s a wonderful thing. It’s beautiful.”

Lil Kim shared that she’s currently working on a memoir (“The Queen Bee”), a documentary and guiding new artists.

“I’m only working with new artists, period,” she said. “So many people helped me. I’m giving it back, I have my friends and people I love in the industry. Obviously, I’ll work with them, but yeah, only new artists. I’m working on something big; I don’t want to talk about it yet ’cause it is coming into fruition. 

She continued, “But I have something really big I’m working on for new artists. And, you know, everyone sees me from years back, support new artists, support women, so, you know, I just wanna be able to build my own empire.”

Watch her full interview below.