BY MELISSA GRACE and DAVE GOLDINER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Lil' Kim spent her Fourth of July the same way as millions of other Americans - with friends, family and a big plate of barbecued chicken and ribs.

The raunchy rapper, fresh from a 10-month stint in prison, relaxed with her mother in the morning before a stream of pals arrived at her Alpine, N.J., mansion in the steamy afternoon.

"She's happy to be home," said Ruby Jones, Kim's mom.

The pair spent "a little mommy-daughter time together," Jones added.

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The only hitch was the new top-of-the-line grill that was supposed to be delivered last week only arrived yesterday.

So some of Kim's crowd of rap royalty had to unpack the barbecue and assemble it before they could fire up the grill.

Lil' mom time
and a lil' hitch>