Lil Kim has shocked fans by showing off her dramatic transformation in a series of Instagram selfies. The 41-year-old rapper, whose appearance has changed a lot over the years, was pictured with blonde hair and appeared to have lighter, more taut skin.

The rapper posted a collage of six selfies to Instagram on Sunday evening, along with the caption ‘Miami Heat’. But the images quickly caused concern among fans, who were shocked to see her dramatic transformation.

“It's a shame she's done this to herself,” one fan commented. Another added: “I wish she had a real friend that would just pull her to the side n just tell her no! Stop! Why change perfect to imperfect?” A different fan commented: “This CAN NOT be little Kim! Wtf did she do to herself?”

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But some users also came to the rapper’s defence, pointing out that if she had undergone surgery, it was her choice to do so. “Maybe she likes how she looks now, isn't her happiness more important than keeping commenters happy!! Not here to judge only love!!” a fan wrote.

This isn't the first time Kim has been reported to have gone under the knife. Last December fans were similarly shocked after she appeared at the BOOM Bash 2015 concert in Philadelphia looking almost unrecognisable. However the rapper has never confirmed any talk of surgery.

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Last month Kim released mixtape Lil’ Kim Season, her first release since 2014. Speaking to Billboard, the rapper explained her hiatus from making music, saying she was focusing on her daughter Royal Reign.

"For a long time, my focus was my baby. I wasn't thinking about music at all, and my focus was just raising my baby,” Kim said. "Now that she's 19 months and she's going to be two this summer, she's motivating me to do music again. We play music all the time and she's always dancing."