Lil kim prison - why did lil kim go to jail ???

Lil' Kim became a Dancing fan in prison

Rapper Lil' Kim is delighted to be competing on the new season of US TV's Dancing With The Stars - because it is "the number one show in prison".

The 'Lady Marmalade' hitmaker was jailed for a year and a day in 2005 after being found guilty of perjury in relation to a New York shoot out in 2001.

But while behind bars in Philadelphia, Lil Kim developed a love for the reality show, and was encouraged by all the inmates to enter the dance competition.

Lil' Kim tells The Insider, "I'm a huge fan! When I was in prison, me and my girls used to watch it. My girls were like, 'Kim, you need to be on that show.'

"In prison you have to all agree what shows you watch. If we can't agree, it doesn't get watched. Everyone watched it faithfully. It's like the number one show in prison!"

And Lil' Kim is thankful to have landed last year's Dancing With The Stars champion, Derek Hough, as her professional partner.

Lil' Kim adds, "I was hoping and praying that I got Derek for my partner."

Lil' Kim determined to keep on 'Dancing'

A few hours after the news broke that two celebrities had dropped out of "Dancing with the Stars" with injuries, Lil' Kim was on the phone, sounding concerned but determined.

"I'm fine. I'm being very careful," said the Grammy-winning rapper, who's among the dancers still in the mix for the show's eighth season, which premieres tonight. "I feel really bad for those who've had those problems. It's just a bummer."

Bummer is right. Jewel and Nancy O'Dell had to withdraw from the show last week because of injuries they received during training for the ballroom competition.

Jewel, the singer who's gone from folksy pop to country, fractured the tibia in both legs. O'Dell, host of "Access Hollywood," has torn knee cartilage that will require surgery.

The two are set to appear on tonight's season opener.

Drama is all in a day's work for "Dancing," a longtime ratings winner for ABC. But usually the craziness erupts after the season has actually started, in moments like Marie Osmond's famed fainting spell of 2007.

This time, the ballroom competition has gotten a jump on the buzz-o-meter and become a hot topic before the first episode airs.