The original Queen Bee has reportedly gone under the knife on numerous occasions over the past few decades. But her surgeries have long been a source of controversy in the hip-hop community. Here's why Lil Kim looks so different from the girl that turned the rap game on its head in the 1990s.

She may ooze confidence when she's on the mic, but Lil Kim actually suffers from a severe lack of self-esteem. When she sat down for a candid interview with Newsweek back in 2000, the petite rapper revealed that she developed a complex about her appearance thanks to a string of unsavory suitors. She explained,

"All my life men have told me I wasn't pretty enough, even the men I was dating. I'd be like, 'Well, why are you with me, then?'"

Sadly, instead of seeking out a man who appreciated her for what she was, and there were plenty of those around when she dropped her debut album, Hard Core, in 1996, Lil Kim tried to compete with the so-called pretty girls.

The "Crush on You" rapper told Newsweek that when men were unfaithful to her with women who looked nothing like her, it made her want to change the way that she looked. She admitted,

"I have low self-esteem and I always have. Guys always cheated on me with women who were European-looking. You know, the long-hair type. Really beautiful women. That left me thinking, 'How can I compete with that?' Being a regular black girl wasn't good enough."

Did this experience leave her wanting lighter skin? Rumors of skin bleaching have been dogging Lil Kim for years, though she has consistently denied that she's ever engaged in the controversial and sometimes dangerous practice.

#LilKim #PlasticSurgery

Low self-esteem | 0:18

Skin bleaching rumors | 1:29

Filters to blame? | 2:21

Bullied by dad | 3:28

Getting bored | 4:38

Domestic violence injury | 5:38

Charlamagne's thoughts | 6:53

Dancing With The Stars | 7:48

Wendy's diss | 8:43

Thoughts from a doc | 9:57