Aspiring rapper Somaya Reece called her a ‘kept bitch’ and maybe she is, but Chrissy Lampkin will tell you there is nothing wrong with the fact that her man, Jim Jones “keeps” her. Thanks to one of Vh1’s latest gems, Love & Hip Hop, we get to meet the woman closest to rapper’s heart (and I don’t mean his eccentric mother, Nancy). Reality shows have a way of distorting the truth to give us drama; while Chrissy won’t deny what they show us, she will confirm that she’s more than what we get to see each episode.
After starting our chat with a few questions Chrissy wasn’t willing to answer, like the alleged hook up with Max B, why she and Jim left Ustream in a hurry after the last episode and the caliber of dudes she dated before Jimmy, I thought she wasn’t going to vibe with me, giving us a stale interview. But Chrissy opened up to me after we stared chatting about how she met Jim initially at a Miami nightclub completely by chance. She was almost giddy as she gushed over how almost immediately they became inseparable. Bottom line, Chrissy loves her man and she let her unconventional proposal prove it. She went on to tell me what she’d do if Jim never commits to her, the infidelity issues or lack thereof in her relationship and why she’s never felt the need to snoop on her man.
We published an article about women proposing to men and it seemed the readers thought it made women look desperate or like the woman is rushing the man. You were bold enough to propose to your man. Why did you do it?
I did it to let him know that I love him enough and I am proud and happy enough to display that to the world. That’s what that’s about. Eventually, we will get married. Am I rushing it? No. Of course people have opinions about me asking him to marry me, but I felt it was the right thing to do. I love him enough and I wanted to share that. It’s how I felt and what I wanted. You need to know what you’re doing with your life. You need to have direction. If that thing doesn’t happen the traditional way, it still needs to happen. So why waste your time? I figured I would cut to the chase. What are we waiting for? There’s nothing wrong with me asking.
Do you feel upset that he never asked you first?
We talk about it a lot, so it’s not like it was something that wasn’t going to happen. We’ve talked and planned. We’re on the same page with it. I felt comfortable enough to ask him. It’s not like it was something that was never talked about and I jumped out the window with it. I knew that it was something we both wanted. I didn’t mind being the first one to step up. We’ve been together almost seven years.
What if he never commits to marrying you?
That’s something that I have to think about and deal with. I have to make a decision. This would be my advice to anyone: If you invest time with someone, it’s because you’re learning and getting to know them. If you’ve learned all you can learn about this person and you hit a brick wall, it’s time to move on. If you guys can constantly grow together, then it’s worth staying there for. When you’ve gotten all you can from your partner and you’re not satisfied, you move on. It’s up to you to figure out your breaking point. I don’t believe because I’ve invested time that I can’t walk away. I’m only walking away if I see that we can’t grow any further. If there’s nothing to look forward to, then you should leave.
Have you ever reached a breaking point with Jim?
When you think about it–what relationship are you going to find where you’ll be free of any of that. You trade in one set or bullshit for another set of bullshit. [laughs] It’s about finding the bullshit you can live with. Jimmy’s a good guy and he wants to see a smile on my face at all times. I can’t ask for anymore than that. There’s been time when our relationship wasn’t always on the same page. We had talks about it. We’ve realized that we’d rather be together dysfunctional, than apart. Relationships go through stages and you should always be learning and growing. When that stops, you have a problem.
Being that you’re with someone like Jim–on a higher level than the average Joe– do you feel you have to accept infidelity as a part of your relationship?
You should never ever accept it. Everybody has individual issues in relationships. Is that something that I want to deal with, absolutely not. Is that something I have dealt with with Jimmy, no. Am I a realist? Absolutely, but I don’t dwell on that type of stuff because it doesn’t come my way.
You’ve never had infidelity issues with Jim?
I can tell you on my life, not once. There’s no girls calling my phone, no one comes to my house, I don’t have it. We have other problems. We’re not problem-free, but that’s just one I don’t have.
That’s amazing because I know a lot of people probably assume…
Oh yeah! They think he’s the worst! He’s a flirt. Don’t get it twisted. He has fun flirting, but I don’t know how far it goes and I don’t look for it. It’s never come my way.
Being that you don’t look for it, are you a woman that is secure enough to know she doesn’t have to check her man’s email, phone and personal things?
I don’t want to do it. It’s not even about being secure. It’s a recipe for disaster because you can see something that’s innocent and if you’re looking for it your mind will tell you it’s something else. I stay away from that. If it’s something real, it will come out and it will come to me. Thus far, I don’t have that problem.
With this whole Somaya thing. I understand why you feel the way you do about her, but it comes off almost as if you’re threatened…
See this is craziness! [laughs] I don’t feel threatened in any way. This is a reality show. I don’t know Somaya. I have no reason to know her. She was placed in front of me and things were said to her and me to get things started. What you saw was the first time I’d ever seen her in that bathroom. I didn’t even know what she did exactly. That’s not insecurity you see. That’s me clowning because she came in the bathroom with a battery in her back. I don’t hate anybody, but I’m not going to let you sit there and talk crazy to me either. I’ve never had to deal with it before. That’s why I handled it so comically. It was one big joke to me. It’s crazy it comes across insecure. You only see one side of me. You don’t see the rationale of why I felt that way or the quality of the product she was putting forth for him to get involved with. There’s so many levels to this situation and of course for 22 minutes, you only see what they want you to see. I can’t get caught up in that.
Are you waiting to have kids with Jim or is that happening soon?
Children are in the works. We’ll figure it all out.
Do you feel Love & Hip Hop has helped you solidify your presence in Jim’s life in your own mind or at least to the public?
I can’t really worry about the public because they’re going to have an opinion always–good, bad or indifferent. It allows him to view me in a light that is more respectful, you know what I mean? I’m out here hustling, so it’s going to be better for our household. There’s nothing like both of us bringing money home. It doesn’t validate me. I’ve always had validation in my relationship. He makes sure of that. We make decisions and life choices together. He respects my opinion and my mind. Now I want him to respect my bank account. [laughs]
Speaking of–you said on the show that you didn’t work. So does Jim support you currently?
Yeah. He takes good care of me. I don’t care how people take it. I get flack all the time. He’s my man. What–you want him not to? I came up in a time when that’s what men did and aspire to do. What man doesn’t want to take care of his woman?
Do you think you’ll be able to secure an independent financial future?
I have before. My lifestyle has changed now. I was never a person that didn’t have anything. When I met Jimmy, I had my own apartment and car. He’s taken it to a bigger level. I’ll be fine.
How has dating Jim changed your life?
It’s taught me patience. It’s taught me that if you stick with something you believe in, then God makes great things happen.
In watching the show, I think you and Jim need a spin-off?
That’s where it started! [laughs] It was Jimmy’s show. He didn’t want to do a reality show. He didn’t like the idea of them putting him in positions and trying to make him respond to certain things. He wasn’t with the foolery. He shut down on them and told him he wasn’t doing it. I still wanted to do it and he told me that the only way he’d do the show was if they got other things for me to do because he didn’t want them on him all day. He told me he’d be there to support me. That’s when the ball started rolling on finding other girls to do the show. Initially, it was Jimmy’s.
What’s your life like outside Jim Jones?
Chrissy likes to be around friends and family. Chrissy likes to take care of her 70-pound dog who I think is my son. That’s my homie. I take care of my house. I do regular things. I’m trying to get into charity work for young girls at the age where they’re old enough to want to do it and too young to do anything about their lives. I think that’s a critical time when they need to be given the tools to make wise decisions. I want to get involved with that. What do you want people to know about you so they can stop assuming? I just want people to know I’m well-grounded. My head and my heart are in the right place. I’m a survivor. I’m resilient. I’m a complex person because I’ve seen so much and have lost so much in life; it’s going to take a lot to shake me. I want people to know I’m a solid person. What you see is what you get.
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