Lil’ Kim’s Apollo performance, featuring surprise guests Sisqo, Lola Brooke and more

Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on January 28, 2023

(NOTE LANGUAGE) Lil’ Kim took the Apollo stage Thursday for her first headlining performance there, and as promised, she brought along some friends.

The Jump Off with Lil’ Kim and Friends kicked off with The Queen Bee’s performance of her 2003 hit “The Jump Off.”

She rapped and danced to songs including “Big Momma Thang,” “Queen B*****” and “Magic Stick,” and performed fan-favorite verses from her features on “All About The Benjamins,” Keyshia Cole‘s “Let It Go” and Mary J. Blige‘s “I Can Love You.”

When rapping her collaborations with other artists, Kim brought a few onstage. During “Jump Off,” she was joined by Mr. Cheeks, who then performed the song sampled on the record — “Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz” — and “Renee.”

King Combs came out to perform “Love You Better” and the Kodak Black-assisted “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop.” As the latter samples Kim and Lil Cease‘s “Crush on You,” the two followed with a performance of that and revisited Junior M.A.F.I.A‘s “Get Money.”

Remy Ma joined Kim for “Wake Me Up,” Sisqo surprised fans when he came out for “How Many Licks,” and Mobb Deep‘s Havoc took the stage for “Quiet Storm.” Helping Kim represent her native city were Brooklynites Lola Brooke and Fivio Foreign. All the stars performed short sets of their own songs.

Ashanti then slowed things down, ending with “Unfoolish”; Kim joined to rap The Notorious B.I.G.‘s verse.

Kim teased new music for this summer and shared kinds words with each guest, giving Ashanti and Remy their flowers and a gift bag.

She received flowers of her own, as Infinity, which sponsored the event, presented her with an award for her contributions to hip-hop.

The Jump Off with Lil’ Kim and Friends began the countdown to the Harlem Festival Culture, taking place in July.