Lil' Kim Was a "Dancing" Fan in Prison

Lil' Kim's desire to be on ABC's Dancing with the Stars might be due to her time in prison.

The rapper spoke with People magazine, saying that she and her fellow inmates were big fans of the ballroom dancing show during her time behind bars.

"Me and my girls used to watch it and they would say, 'You need to be on that show,'" Kim said.

Lil' Kim, whose real name is Kimberly Jones, was sentenced to one year and one day in a Philadelphia detention center in 2005. She was convicted of lying to a federal grand jury about a Manhattan radio station shooting. The rapper was released early after serving 10 months of her sentence.

"In prison you have to agree to on what to watch," she added, "[and Dancing] was the number one show. We watched it faithfully and we were so into it."

Kim is excited about the skimpy costumes used for the competition, saying, "Those are natural Lil' Kim outfits."

She's also happy with her professional dancing partner, Derek Hough. "I prayed and was hoping to have Derek as my partner," she says. "When those doors opened and I saw him, I was like 'Yes!'"

The feeling is mutual. Hough admitted that he enjoys having Kim as a partner. "We gelled immediately. She really caught me off guard. She was really sweet and soft-spoken. A bowl of sunshine!"