Lola Brooke is reeling with excitement after celebrating a career milestone thanks to hip hop icon Lil Kim. The Hard Core emcee was joined by the “Don’t Play With It” artist to perform her breakout hit at the famed Apollo Theater last night (Jan. 26).
“Lil Kim brought me out at the Apollo! This my first time ever at the Apollo. I never in life been here! I can’t believe this s**t, mannn! Can’t wait to go home and f**king cry. I need some space to myself ‘cuz wtf yo!” Brooke tweeted after their showstopping performance. The young artist even received praises from Missy Elliott, who responded to the post with supportive emojis. Brooke added, “l love you [and] thank you so much, Kim. You just took [a] weight off my back knowing that you got mine! Lil Kim.” Fans were overjoyed to see the two Brooklyn rappers sharing the stage and fusing generations of music.
“Na, Lola Brooke really made it. Lil Kim just brought her out to the Apollo. Holy s**ttttt,” a tweet read. Another fan wrote, “Congrats, dear. Lil Kim is someone that [is] always giving other FEMALE RAPPERS [a] chance to SHINE since the ‘90s. She’s never afraid to share the limelight.” One person who wasn’t able to attend noted, “Lil Kim bringing out Lola Brooke at the Apollo is something I wish I saw in person.” Brooke has always shown her admiration for the rap icon. In a tweet from June 2021, she expressed the desire to portray the “Lighters Up” hitmaker on the big screen. “I said this ‘out loud’ but not ‘publicly,’ so here it [goes] (my stomach tweaking right now lol). I hope whenever that day comes to start [the] Lil Kim biopic, I can get that opportunity to bring her vision to life. I think I can pull it off. That’s one of my biggest dreams!” In November 2022, she followed up with, “I F**KING LOVE HER!!!! Wanna do her biopic BAD,” regarding the living legend.
Kim’s performance at the Apollo was to celebrate the Harlem Festival of Culture. Ahead of the show, the venue tweeted, “#ApolloFam, it’s our anniversary! We couldn’t have made it to 89 years without you! Join us in celebrating nearly [nine] decades of amplifying Black creativity, imagining new futures and ensuring artistic expression always has a home on 125th Street.” In addition to Brooke, Kim also brought out King Combs, Remy Ma, Fivio Foreign and more.
Check out more clips from the show below.