Five Women, One Remix, and a Hip-Hop Moment That Still Hits
Zephyring 29 years ago, Lil’ Kim unleashed one of the defining women-led posse cuts of the 1990s. “Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)” brought Lil’ Kim, Da Brat, Missy Elliott, Angie Martinez and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes together on one record — five unmistakable voices, five different energies, and absolutely no need for anybody to shrink themselves to make room.
Released in 1997, the remix became bigger than a standard album rework. It crossed over hard, climbed to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, hit the upper reaches of the rap charts, went platinum in the U.S., and picked up a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
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Ladies Night, Then and Now
A proper posse cut deserves a proper replay: five voices, one classic sample, and one of the most durable women-in-rap records of the 1990s.
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Kool & the Gang Gave the Remix Its Instant Party DNA
The remix was built around Kool & the Gang’s 1979 classic “Ladies’ Night,” flipping that instantly recognizable groove into a rap record that felt celebratory without losing anybody’s individual personality. The original version of “Not Tonight” on Lil’ Kim’s Hard Core sampled George Benson’s “Turn Your Love Around”; the remix took the song somewhere completely different.
That shift is part of why the remix became the version people remember. The hook feels communal, the verses move like a relay race, and each artist gets a clean pocket to sound completely like herself. Kim anchors it, Da Brat snaps through her section, Missy brings her own off-center rhythm, Angie Martinez slides in with radio-world cool, and Left Eye cuts through with the kind of personality that could never be mistaken for anybody else.
The Video Turned the Record Into a Full Women-in-Hip-Hop Roll Call
The music video expanded the record’s already stacked lineup into something closer to a reunion photo for women in ’90s music and entertainment. Alongside the five performers, it featured appearances from names including Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, T-Boz, SWV, Xscape, Total, Changing Faces and Maia Campbell.
Directed by Lance Rivera, the visual leaned all the way into celebration: tropical scenery, boats, dancing and a cast of women taking over the frame. That sense of community is a huge part of why the video still lands. It is not simply five stars sharing one song; it is an entire scene visibly showing up for one another.
Nearly three decades later, “Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)” still plays like a reminder of what happens when collaboration is treated as the main event instead of a marketing trick. No interchangeable verses. No anonymous feature pile-up. Just five women with enough identity to make one record feel bigger every time the mic changes hands.
Watch Lil’ Kim’s “Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)”
The 1997 remix brings Lil’ Kim, Da Brat, Missy Elliott, Angie Martinez and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes together over Kool & the Gang’s “Ladies’ Night” groove.
Watch More From the “Ladies Night Remix” Era
A second archival clip keeps the focus on the record and the women who made it one of the era’s most memorable rap collaborations.
Sources: Atlantic Records; Billboard; Grammy Awards; Rolling Stone.
