Thug Life Army

Hip-hop rap artist Lil’ Kim is to begin serving her one year and a day prison sentence September 19^th.Lil’ Kim was convicted in March on perjury and conspiracy charges, for lying to investigators and to a federal grand jury about her involvement in a shooting four years ago at New York hip-hop station Hot 97.

Now the hip-hop diva Lil'' Kim has filed a $6 million civil lawsuit against one of the two men who provided wounding testimony that helped secure her conviction on the federal perjury and conspiracy charges.

According to The Associated Press, the suit filed Monday accuses fellow rap artist James "Lil'' Cease" Lloyd, the leader of Lil’ Kim's former Brooklyn hip-hop clique, Junior M.A.F.I.A., of using the the Queen Bee's name and likeness to promote his forthcoming DVD, "The Chronicles of Junior M.A.F.I.A. Part II: Reloaded," tentatively scheduled for release later this month. Lil’ Kim left the group back in 2001.

The suit claims Lil’ Kim never granted Cease permission to exploit her name and image for the DVD production; doing so, as the filing suggests he has, constitutes false advertising and false endorsement, the AP reports.

Lil’ Kim also alleges that Cease publicly announced plans to include in-depth interviews with him and other M.A.F.I.A. members in the DVD package, explaining their involvement in the hip-hop diva's trial.

Born Kimberly Jones, the female hip-hop rapper lied both to the grand jury and during her subsequent trial. Lil’ Kim testified that she did not see former manager Damion Butler the day of the shooting and was unable to recognize a photograph of Suif "Gutta" Jackson; both men accepted a plea bargain offered by prosecutors and admitted that they initiated the gunfire, shooting at members of rap group Capone-N-Noreaga that afternoon.

Cease and Antoine "Banger" Spain, who also worked with Lil’ Kim in Junior M.A.F.I.A., testified that they saw Butler and Jackson at the radio station with Lil’ Kim the day of the shooting.

Lil Kim is also facing tax problems. NewsDay reported during the trial, that Assistant Manhattan U.S. Attorney Cathy Seibel confronted the rapper with reams of documents showing that Jones owed the Internal Revenue Service nearly $1 million in taxes while she was living large.

Seibel grilled Lil’ Kim on why she forgot to tell the IRS that she owned about $450,000 in diamond jewelry, instead claiming it was worth only about $49,000.

Lil’ Kim claimed she could not pay the back taxes because she spent $37,000 a month and earned just $30,000.