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The L.A. Recorder’s Office shows that Lil Kim owes from 2002 to 2009. Her most recent tax addition is an amount of $86,347.85 for the final year, bringing her total debt to a whopping $1,026,862.42.

Beginning her rap career with Junior Mafia in 1995, the Brooklyn-born rapper went double-platinum with her “Hard-Core” album. Singles, such as “No Time,” “Not Tonight,” and “Crush On You” were the chart toppers that brought Lil Kim into her own.

Afterward, Kim continued to enjoy moderate success until she was imprisoned for a year for lying to a jury in 2005. In perfect rapper style, though, after being released, Lil Kim appeared on “Dancing With the Stars.”

More recently, Lil Kim has gotten in to a number of public spats with fellow female MC Niki Minaj, and while the jury is out as to which femcee actually wears the crown, Lil Kim is reportedly working with Dr. Dre and 50 Cent on her fifth studio album.

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To expand the show, VH1 is taking the hit reality drama down south for an Atlanta spinoff. The move comes after the New York based season of “Love & Hip Hop,” featuring Chrissy Lampkin, Emily B., Olivia, Somaya Reece, Kimbella, Yandy Smith, and Erica Mena, averaged a reported 3 million viewers per episode.

The cast for Atlanta hasn’t been confirmed yet, so I guess we’ll all have to stay tuned.

Will you be watching?

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Michael Herklots, executive director of retail and brand development for Nat Sherman, talked with NewsOne.com about how to tailgate in style and choose the right cigar. Nat Sherman, Inc. has been a New York tobacco institution since 1930, working with manufacturers throughout the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

Everyone in the Giants organization smokes Nat Sherman cigars. Announcer Bob Papa, the official Giants announcer, can be heard every time the Giants score, saying, “Give that man a Nat Sherman cigar!”

“You don’t have to look like an idiot to tailgate,” Herklots says. “You can be a little fashion forward hanging out by the grill. Cigars add to your style either for pre-game or post-game celebration, or you can smoke for mourning a loss.”

You shouldn’t be lighting up a big Churchill or a big Double Corona in the winter. In the cold, you’re less able to pick up some of the nuances of milder cigars, so you need something with a little fuller flavor, says Herklots. Tailgating in colder weather takes a particular style, so from a cigar perspective, smaller formats are key.

Here are a few cigars Herklots recommends:

1)  The Nat Sherman Host Hobart

A robusto format (a shorter, fatter shaped cigar). It’s Honduran, medium-bodied, and there’s a sweetness on the cap right when it touches your lips. It’s an easy-to-taste cigar, so you’re not fighting for nuances when you’re in the cold. It’s really smooth and creamy.

Cost: $5. CBuy at NatSherman.com or at local retail tobacco stores.

2) A Metropolitan Maduro Union

A robust format—made in the Dominican Republic. Because of the maduro wrapper it adds a little bit more body and fuller flavor, but it also has a sweetness, but in this case the sweetness is natural because of the fermentation process this wrapper goes through.

Cost: $5

3)  The Nat’s Point Five

It’s like a half a cigar. It’s a little petite Corona and they come packed in five packs. They come in a natural wrapper and a maduro wrapper. But the maduro wrapper is going to be fuller, so it will stand up better to the cold. They’re great if you feel like a little quick something. They come in five packs so you can share with your friends at the tailgate.

Cost: $14 per pack

Lighting the cigars when tailgating is a challenge. We don’t recommend putting your face in the grill to light the cigar.

Here are some stylish lighters:

1) S.T. Dupont—have a lighter called the Maxi Jet—it’s a single flamed torch lighter, single action to ignite. If you want to balance functionality and style Maxi Jet is the best.

Cost: $200 each

2) Xikar, Colibri, and Lotus companies make less expensive torch lighters-$25-$100.

Make sure you bring an extra can of butane gas for your lighter and a travel humidor, so they hold up in cold weather.

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“I think the most important thing for people, regardless of what they will be cooking, is to be prepared and do their meats ahead of time. Get your shopping done on Thursday or Friday. Saturday do your cooking and prepping, so Sunday you’re just heating it up. That’s one of the key things: not stressing yourself out on game day.”

Using Bourbon in the kitchen is a huge trend in the kitchen right now, so here are two of her Bourbon-infused recipes:

Shrimp Cocktail with Maker’s Mark Cocktail Sauce:

1 recipe Maker’s Mark® cocktail sauce (recipe below)
24 pc. shrimp in shell, u-10
12 cups water
1-1/2 cups dry white wine, such as Riesling
2 lemons juiced
2 bay leaves
10 pieces whole black peppercorn
1 medium onion, peeled, halved and sliced thin 1/4″
1 stalk celery, sliced thin crosswise 1/8″
1 whole leek, washed and sliced thin, white and green
3 medium carrots, peeled, sliced into 1/8″ thick rounds
1/4 cup kosher salt
Lemon wedges, for garnish

1. Leaving the shell and tail intact, slice down the back of the shrimp, deveining the shrimp.
2. Bring the water, white wine, lemon juice, bay leaves, peppercorns, onion, celery, leek, carrots and kosher salt to a boil in a large pot. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the brine is flavorful. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a new pot, discarding the solids.
3. Bring the stock back up to a simmer. Add the shrimp in shell and stir to submerge the shrimp. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the shrimp to poach for 10 minutes or until fully cooked.
4. Drain the shrimp and place the shrimp into a large bowl filled with ice. Stir the shrimp with the ice cubes and place the bowl in the freezer until the shrimp have cooled down, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Peel the shell from the shrimp, leaving the tail intact. Discard the shells. Serve the shrimp ice cold alongside the Maker’s Mark® cocktail sauce, with fresh lemon wedges.

Maker’s Mark Cocktail Sauce
Makes 1-1/2 cups

2 tablespoons Maker’s Mark® Bourbon, flamed off
1 cup Heinz® Ketchup
1 tablespoon TABASCO® Sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup freshly grated horseradish
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1. Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl. Keep chilled until needed.

These ribs take on their bourbon brine and an exotic barbecue sauce scented with coriander. Finger lickin’ good, for real.

Prep Time: 24 hours/day beforehand
Cook Time: 5 hours
Level: Easy.

Serves 4–6

Recipe:

2 cups Makers Mark® Bourbon
1 bunch cilantro – cleaned and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 rack of peeled pork spare ribs
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 white onion, peeled and diced 1/2″
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
Fresh red radish, for garnish

1. In a large bowl, mix the Maker’s Mark®, cilantro, garlic, ginger, garlic, cumin, cayenne, curry, mustard seeds, Dijon and brown sugar and salt until well-combined. Pour into a shallow baking dish. Submerge the full rack of ribs in the marinade and refrigerate over night.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. After 24 hours, remove the ribs, brushing off any excess marinade and spices (reserve the marinade for the barbecue sauce), and place on baking sheet and roast in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the rack from the oven, wrap the ribs tightly in foil and cool in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
3. Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the marinade liquid and all of its components, the pineapple and tomato juice, ketchup, and water. Cook this mixture for 45 minutes on a medium simmer, stirring occasionally.
4. When the ribs have cooled down, slice them in between each bone to separate them from the rack and place in a large mixing bowl. Strain the barbecue sauce through a fine mesh sieve and pour over the ribs, tossing to thoroughly coat them.
5. Place the individual ribs in a single layer in an ample-sized baking dish, pouring the excess barbecue sauce over the ribs, and return to the oven. Lower the heat on the oven to 350°F and bake for an additional hour, turning the ribs occasionally to ensure sauce coverage.
6. The ribs will be tender and the sauce should glaze the ribs during the baking process. Serve hot with picked cilantro leaves, thinly sliced radishes and Maker’s Mark® Bourbon “chilled neat.”

Bourbon is a great mixer. It’s always good to have a hot drink if it’s going to be cold out. Hot toddies or cider are good to go with the food.

All in all, keep it simple, says Wong, because at the end of the day, “the Super Bowl is about great food, but really it’s about the Giants kicking Tom Brady’s *ss!”

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Check out excerpts from her interview on a BlogTalk Radio show below:

What’s going on in her life.

I’ve been sober for two years, and a lot of people can’t say that. I’m timid, shy and broken a little bit by some of the responses [online], but then again so much support from the people saying “No! She’s none of that.” Real friends stepping up … And just showing me who the real people were in my life. It helped me find myself and find out that there’s a real true artist inside of me–that no matter what obstacles may come, he’s not going to let you fall, and he’s not going to let you down.

I started ministering to myself and looking at my heart … Finding my voice … And it just made me stronger. If it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger. Like Drake says, “It’s far from over…” I listened to the music that people were making, and it kept inspiring me. I started making music, and I just stepped out on a limb. My mom died … So much has happened. I miss people in my life. I miss LL [Cool J]. Debbie Allen came back to the community … And for once so many miracles. I swear so many miracles!

On the state of her career and the youtube videos that surfaced:

I went on to do movies, and nobody talked about it, and that hurt me. I did a movie called ‘Rim Shop’ after Katrina had happened in New Orleans. We went down there, and that place looked a mess, seriously. We shot a film out there just to help those people, to bring revenue in and just show our support to their situation. Then, I did a gospel kind of Tyler Perry play called ‘Friends and Lovers’.

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The proud recipient of countless coveted awards, such as the 2009 Urban X Award for “Best Anal Performer,” Fire began her porn career in 1998 at 22 years young.  Fire, who has appeared in hundreds of adult films, actually made the cut and had a legit cameo in the TNT police drama ”Southland,” where she played the girlfriend of a gang member.

Fire actually gave her breaking news item to her adoring fans via her Twitter account:

the_jada_fire $★jada fire★$

the_jada_fire $★jada fire★$

I WANNA SAY THANKS TO ALL MY FANS,I LOVE YALL SO MUCH…IM JUST DONE SHOOTINGS SCENES THAT’S ALL,ITS OK

So why is the Black queen of raunchy giving up her glorious crown? Fire tweeted that she is tired of the game:

the_jada_fire $★jada fire★$

People asking WHY? I’m just tired of having sex on camera that’s all, but I will continue to webcam, I don’t have 2 f**k nobody but me LMAO

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On her marriage:
My marriage is not on the rocks. But I would be a liar and my fans would hate me if I said to them, ‘Oh, we’re perfect and everything is great.’ We have our situations just like everybody else. I mean, we’re not out in public tryna kill each other, but it’s real. But we love each other. That’s it.

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When it’s time, when it happens. It’s in my future, but I’m not planning it. I don’t want to do it because its the trend. I was a babysitter when I was a kid. I babysitted kids from 12 to, like, 16 years old. I changed diapers, I heard ‘em cry so I don’t…

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It takes being a student of history or simply being alive in 1971, the year Cornelius introduced “Soul Train” to the American television audience, to fully appreciate how he turned the perception that Black culture could not survive mainstream market on its head. And the times were not in his favor.

Malcolm X was shot and killed in 1965. Five months later, the Watts Riots erupted due to suppressed anger from African Americans toward law enforcement. In 1967, five days of rioting claimed the lives of 43 people in Detroit, accelerating an already white exodus from the predominately Black city. That same year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional. (Cornelius’ second  ex-wife is white.) And let’s not forget that Dr. Martin L. King Jr. was killed in 1968.

Throughout the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement forced America to recognize that Blacks were not treated as equal citizens under the law, and they demanded sweeping federal legislation to correct it.

Now enters this dark-skin, baritone-voiced Negro telling white executives that they should invest in a Black music television show. Dick Clarke‘s “American Bandstand” was the television dance show that most Americans wiggled their hips to prior to “Soul Train.” And as Kenneth Gamble of the once-renowned Philadelphia International Records label told the L.A. Times recently, there certainly weren’t many Black folks on Clarke’s show leading any of the wiggling.

“‘Bandstand’ was a dance show, but it basically concentrated on Caucasian people. While they had a few Black artists on from time to time, “Soul Train” was something that the African-American community embraced first — and it’s always good to see African-American people on TV — but then it became a national and an international phenomenon.”

NPR correspondent Karen Grigsby recalls an interview she had with Cornelius, where he discussed advertisers’ initial trepidation.

“[Cornelius] told me that when I interviewed him on the celebration of the 40th anniversary, people said, ‘Oh, nobody’s going to buy this,’” Grigsby said. ‘There’s not going to be any advertisers.’ So he lined up the advertisers and, after the first couple of shows, people were like, ‘Wow.’”

Eventually, Cornelius convinced enough power players to invest in “Soul Train” and started the show in Chicago. It moved to Los Angeles soon after. Sears and Chicago-based cosmetic company Johnson Products were Soul Train’s first major advertisers.

Cornelius, in his own way, was an activist. But not in the traditional sense. He didn’t picket or march out his frustration toward the system. He relied on his silky voice, impeccably tailored attire, and laid-back disposition to work within it instead.

Like the Black cultural ambassadors before him who successful gained acceptance from White mainstream audiences (Sidney Poitier, Jackie Robinson, Bill Cosby), Cornelius could not appear as an “angry, Black man” down-trodden by “the White man.”

Shayne Lee, a sociologist, told CNN that Cornelius’ style allowed “Soul Train” to slowly make its way into American mainstream pop culture.

“He was an ambassador, the pope of soul,” Lee said. “For a lot of suburban Whites living in segregated America, this was their first exposure to this exciting new world of movement and energy. He made Black culture more accessible.”

In other words, Cornelius made Black culture “less threatening.”

His efforts to achieve this clean-cut identity eventually clashed with his changing audience and their evolving musical tastes. Cornelius did not like hip-hop at first and was very reluctant to welcome rappers on his program, but his business acumen convinced his ideological bias to open his doors to the likes of Run-DMC, Public Enemy, and Eric B and Rakim.

(These acts were not exactly “hard-core”)

But what is uniquely special about “Soul Train” is that while Cornelius catered to Black audiences, White dancers regularly appeared on his show. Even Elton John and David Bowie (you can’t get any whiter than these two) performed on his shows to expand their reach to Black audiences. If there ever was a musical integrationist, Cornelius was it. Not only did he make Black hip to mainstream White America, he convinced the business world that it was profitable to invest in it.

Black people have always known that we have that God-given gift known as “soul.” Don Cornelius simply made sure the rest of America (and the world) knew it too.

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