LIL' KIM: 'COUNTDOWN TO LOCKDOWN' DEBUTS THURS 3/9

03.02.06

Lil' Kim is one of the most successful and celebrated rappers in the business, as well as one of the most intriguing and glamorous stars in entertainment. Now, she's starring in her own reality series, and no channel is better suited than BET to bring Lil' Kim's story to the small screen. Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown is a new half-hour series that vividly chronicles the petite rapper's last two weeks of freedom before surrendering herself to federal authorities. This six-episode docu-drama is produced in collaboration with Edmonds Entertainment and Queen Bee Entertainment, premiering on Thursday, March 9 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. 

BET's cameras were allowed full access to Lil' Kim, her entourage and family before she headed off to a maximum-security prison in Pennsylvania.  Sent there on a conviction for false testimony to a federal grand jury about a shootout involving members of her posse outside a New York City radio station, Lil' Kim was sentenced to one year and a day for protecting friends involved in the 2001 incident.  Lil' Kim's loyalty proved to be a costly lesson -- one that Kim, her closest friends and associates will discuss in this series.

'We take an unblinking look at her life and her choices, and the consequences of those choices,' says BET President of Entertainment Reginald Hudlin. 'We do not turn away from the hard truth of what's going on.'

Is Kimberly Jones a victim, a soldier or a fool for refusing to break the "no snitching" code of the streets? Watch, and then decide for yourself, offers Hudlin.

Over the course of fourteen unforgettable days, BET viewers ride along with the rap diva and fashion icon as she sorts out her business and legal affairs, makes her last few public appearances to promote her new CD, shoots a video, attends fashion week, shops, hits the party scene and says goodbye to friends and family before turning herself over to authorities. Viewers witness Lil' Kim, the superstar, making the physical transformation to becoming Kimberly Jones -- peeling off the layers of hair extensions, acrylic nails, false eyelashes and stage make-up. The cameras also capture her private moments as Lil' Kim attempts to come to grips with who she is and where she's headed. This remarkable journey is set to a soundtrack punctuated by the hypnotic grooves and skillfully-delivered rhymes from Lil' Kim's latest critically-acclaimed disc, THE NAKED TRUTH, in stores now.

'I've always been fascinated by Lil' Kim,' says executive producer Tracey Edmonds, who pitched the project to BET. 'She's such a dynamic female, on so many different levels. She's a businesswoman. She's a recording icon. She's a fashion icon. Seeing everything she was trying accomplish, preparing to go away, and being so strong . . . it was really fascinating to spend time with her for two weeks on this roller coaster ride.'

Also joining Lil' Kim on the journey is a colorful cast of characters including her legal team, manager, personal assistants, family and other members of her close-knit inner circle. They're all trying to deal with what's ahead for Kim and the impact on their lives of her imminent absence.  By the time this series concludes, each will have helped viewers gain a whole new perspective on the diminutive, but larger-than-life rapper known as Lil' Kim.

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