Lil Mama Trends As Jay-Z & Alicia Keys Perform “Empire State of Mind” At 2024 Tonys  

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ performance of “Empire State of Mind” at the 2024 Tony Awards had fans wondering if Lil Mama was gonna show up and crash the stage like she infamously did at the 2009 VMAs. 

Lil Mama was trending on Sunday (June 16) after Keys teased an upcoming Jay-Z collab. “1 Billion streams Thank you! We love you. What’s next,” Keys wrote alongside a video teaser.  

However, social media users flooded the replies with Lil Mama memes. “A Lil Mama Collab???” one person wrote alongside an edit of the video featuring Lil Mama alongside Jay—Z and Alicia Keys.  

Nonetheless, the trolling continued after the announcement that the duo would perform the hit at the 2024 Tony Awards. 

“Lil mama has the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever,” joked an X (Twitter) user.   

“Empire State of Mind” is featured in Keys’ musical Hell’s Kitchen, which was up for multiple Tony awards at the 2024 ceremony. Jay-Z joined the Keys and the cast to perform the hit, although he delivered his verse via a pre-recorded segment.  

Lil Mama Responds

While Lil Mama did not repeat the stage invasion, she responded to the trolling. The Harlem native insisted she’s “part of the reason” for the song’s success and some agree with her.  

“This is Lil Mama’s song,” a fan wrote. “And she aint got a bar on it. Whenever I hear this I dont think about anything except for that Lil Mama moment. For the whole duration of the song.” 

Lil Mama has spoken about the iconic television moment over the years, most recently in March this year. “I was hurt, I was depressed,” she shared. “I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ You got everybody telling you you’re doing bad. People pointing at you like, ‘What did you do?’”  

Meanwhile, in 2021, Jay-Z said “That’s our sister. Man, we love her. I wouldn’t recommend people just jumping on other artists’stage, but we don’t wish her no harm.”