Actually I disagree. Lil Kim was a pretty good rapper and is well respected; I'm no fan of her albums but I can't deny she was one of the best female rappers. While her first three albums each went platinum I don't believe she had nearly the mass appeal Minaj has right now; she's basically a pop star who happens to rap. Super Bass has almost 200 million views on youtube, was a smash hit, her album was a top seller last year and is still selling, etc.
also in terms of comparison, both had people write most of their songs