From The Vault: Trina

Don't ever let it be said that Southern belle Katrina "Trina" Taylor gets woozy over a little blood. Clad in a skimpy white paramedic's coat and little else on the cover of her 2000 debut album, Da Baddest Bitch, she licked her lips while straddling a gunshot victim, her thick brown thighs doing more than CPR ever could. The two covers she's done for KING solidified her status as one of music's hottest chicks (self-love, people, no shame in our reign). Now, with a new record label pending, and her fourth album, Tha Baddest Bitch 2, locked, loaded and ready to bust off on SoundScan, Trina wants us to get to know the real her: the life, love and heartbreak behind the racy reputation. A girl equal parts freak and sweetheart - what more can a fella ask for?

So, the baddest chick is down for a ménage à cinq for the Illest Men's Magazine Ever.

This is actually one of the best covers I've done. I enjoyed the concept of Melyssa, Mya, Buffie, Reagan and me returning for the fifth anniversary. To work with them and be around so many people with positive attitudes, it was real hot. I had a great time.

How does this shoot measure up to the body-paint flicks?

Well . . . [long pause] I was excited about the body paint, even though it was a long, six-hour process, and I thought it was gonna be more artwork. I didn't care to see my butt on the cover like that.

But your perfect posterior has become your trademark. Are you tired of having your back out front, so to speak?

[Long laugh] It's there, I'm not denying it. Of course, it's a men's magazine, so men probably cared for it, and it was an interesting interview. I'm not complaining.

Do your lady friends vibe with KING at all?

KING falls in the middle between sexy and stylish, which kind of gives girls the okay to say, "Let's see what they're talking about.” It's crossing over into style and fashion, and a lot of my friends are reading it for that.