Lil Kim surprised fans with appearances from multiple special guests during her show at Harlem’s world famous Apollo Theater earlier this week.
On Thursday (January 26), the Brooklyn native took over the legendary venue for her one-night-only concert, The Jump-Off; Lil Kim & Friends, featuring cameos from artists such as Fat Joe,Remy Ma, Sisqo and more.
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In a post on his Instagram account, the Terror Squad lyricist commemorated the special evening by sharing footage from the show of Remy Ma and himself performing hits such as their 2004 smash “Lean Back,” and 2017’s “All The Way Up,” featuring French Montana.
“Had to givem that work!!!!! @lilkimthequeenbee @apollotheater THE BIGGEST @remyma,” Fat Joe wrote in the caption. Sisqo also celebrated the night, which he deemed “historic,” in an IG post featuring a clip of his and Kim’s performance of their 2000 collaboration “How Many Licks.”
Additional appearances from artists such as Ashanti, Fivio Foreign and King Combs also highlighted the multigenerational night of Hip Hop performances. Lil Kim also brought out “Don’t Play With It,” rapper Lola Brooke, who performed her viral hit and also shared a moment with the Queen Bee, who showered her with support in a brief shout-out.
“I’m so proud of you, baby,” Lil Kim told Lola Brooke. “I got your fuckin’ back!” Brooke responded, “This my first time in here, you brought me in here.” She continued: “I Love you, thank you so much this means everything to me.”
Lil Kim’s exclusive show officially kicked off the sprawling year-long celebration of the 50-plus years-in-the-making return of the Harlem Cultural Festival — which was revived by Questlove’s award-winning 2022 documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).
The 53-year-old Harlem Cultural Festival will return in 2023 under the reimagined name of the Harlem Festival of Culture (HFC) and will be held at Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park (previously known as Mount Morris Park), where the original 1969 event featured in Questlove’s film — which boasted performances from Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and more — took place.
In October 2022, HFC revealed Wyclef Jean had been appointed to a leadership role in the organization as the Chair of the Music Advisory Board. In his role, the Fugees star will be the authority figure in charge of recruiting artists from within the community to support the festival and will also serve as an advisor to the HFC executive management group.
For Kim’s West Coast fans who missed the Apollo Theater show, the “Crush On You” rapper will be performing live in Las Vegas in May at the Lovers & Friends festival.
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Lil Kim will grace the stage in addition to artists such as 50 Cent, Missy Elliott, Chris Brown, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Summer Walker, T.I., Soulja Boy, Busta Rhymes, Chingy, and many others.
