Rapper Lil' Kim has taken the stand in her perjury trial, claiming that she is not guilty of any of the crimes that she has been charged with.
Lil' Kim, real name Kimberly Jones, denies lying to a federal grand jury investigating two of her former associates, Suif Jackson and Damion Butler, who both pleaded guilty to firing shots in a shootout between rival hip-hop groups in 2001.
Jones claimed that she was not aware that Butler was at the scene that day and said that she did not know Jackson when a photograph of him was shown to her.
"I did the best I could to remember. I did not lie," Jones said, upon taking the stand yesterday. "I'm not guilty of any of these crimes."
When asked if there was a difference between Kimberly Jones and the image she portrays as Lil' Kim, the singer said: "Of course there is. I'm nothing like my music".
Assistant U.S. attorney, Kathy Seibel, suggested inconsistencies in the testimony of Jones, confirming that Jones had known Jackson for years. "You've seen him in the flesh thousands of times," she said.
Defence lawyer, Mel Sachs, went on to claim that Jones had no motive to lie to the grand jury or to try to protect her former associates. The singer claimed that the men had taken advantage of her generosity and that they had stolen from her.
When asked if she had cause to protect them by lying, Jones said: "Why would I after what they did to me? I'm so happy I'm away from them...they did me so wrong. I have no reason to lie for them." The trial continues.
