Many aspects of Memphis Rap are shrouded in mystery. And the story of Lady Bee & Skinny Pimp is definitely one of the most interesting parts of this genre. For those unfamiliar Lady Bee is a female rapper who released 3 albums from 1993-1994. With these being, Sumthin For Da Streets Part 1-2, & Strictly For That Nigga 3. All of which are considered classic Memphis Rap albums. However these local cassettes released back in 1994. have now been a point of controversy for over 30 years.
Before the advent of the internet, local Memphis Rap fans & supporters have been skeptical for a long time over these 3 tapes. There has been long-standing local rumors that producer and rapper Kingpin Skinny Pimp had actually been behind the rapping on 2 of these 3 tapes. These rumors stem from the fact that Lady Bee’s style & voice is eerily similar to Skinny’s who produced & rapped alongside her on all of these tapes.
The rumor actually goes much deeper than this. Through some basic internet research and conversation with others. Many people have said that Skinny Pimp was actually married to Lady Bee at one point. Lady Bee’s real name was Barbara and she was 30 years old. While this may seem far-fetched, the attached photo from 1995 tells all. In it, not only does she advertise her local store with her first name Barbara. But her license plate actually spells the word “DIVORCE”. Showing everyone what had come from her relationship with Skinny.
Once the internet got a hold of these tapes. The rumor that Skinny actually recorded like a Woman, became a fact pretty quickly. Once someone pitched down “Lady Bee’s” recording. The findings revealed that both of her second albums were recorded by Skinny Pimp applying a pitch effect to his vocals. The real Lady Bee had only recorded that first Sumthin Fa Streets tape. What most likely happened, is that once the two had broken up. Skinny likely already started working on the second tape and had unfinished songs or tracks. I could see Skinny possibly going back and erasing the few parts she may have already recorded and finished recording the album himself. Since, there was still demand from people locally for more Lady Bee tapes. He released that part 2 with the goal to make even more money than the first one. He of course then dropped another Strictly For That Nigga or her 3rd album. To likely capitalize off the demand and make more money.
Whatever Skinny’s motive was for recording and acting like a female. And suddenly recording songs called “Where The Big Dicks At”. In my opinion it worked, and it worked well. The tapes sold back in the day and they are still popular today. The rumors never made or break Skinny’s starpower and influence. If anything this move was more influential than anything else he’s done. In my opinion people like Evil Pimp were inspired by tapes like Lady Bee. Evil Pimp would go on to create his own alter-ego called StanMan. Who was a younger more evil version of himself with a pitched up voice. Quite similar to Skinny Pimp. Regardless of how it was composed, I still play my copies 2 Lady Bee and listened to nearly everything else Skinny Pimp has released.
