“Is she influenced by Foxy Brown? Certainly,” the DC native said. “That’s where a lot of her style comes from—Salt-N-Pepa, all of that. That era of hip-hop was her heyday, those are the woman she identifies with.”

The 44-year-old also gushed about Lil’ Kim’s influence not only on Cookie but on hip-hop in general.

“Kim is everything. Today it’s Nicki Minaj, but Nicki Minaj got everything from Kim. Kim came on the scene and made everything change for women—she made it feminine and sexy and hardcore. She was a champion, and she’s certainly Cookie’s champion.”

source: Vogue