It was a concert fit for a king.
Hip hop royalty including Lil’ Kim and Busta Rhymes gathered in Prospect Park on Thursday night to pay tribute to Brooklyn’s own Notorious B.I.G.
DJ Stretch Armstrong warmed up the crowd and told stories about how Biggie would appear on his “Stretch & Bobbito” radio show in the 1990s. Radio legend Angie Martinez introduced The Lox, who was the first act to hit the stage. Lil’ Kim later whipped the crowd into a frenzy performing a 30-minute set of her hits like “Magic Stick” and Mobb Deep’s “Quiet Storm.”
One of the highlights of the evening was Kim performing old hits like “Get Money” with Junior M.A.F.I.A., the Brooklyn rap group Biggie formed and mentored. It was the first time they performed together as an official group since 2019. And, “it had been since 2005 before that,” group member Terrence Harding, who is now a luxury real estate specialist, told Page Six.
“It was mind-blowing for us to be on stage and be together again, and to see all age groups singing our songs. It was electrifying,” he said.
“That’s how we keep the legacy alive. B.I.G. is something that’s going to be forever. That’s a Brooklyn thing,” Lil’ Cease told celeb photographer Johnny Nunez backstage.
Biggie’s official DJ, DJ Enuff, spun before Busta Rhymes closed out the Budweiser and Livenation event.
The artists later celebrated with an afterparty at Polygon in Williamsburg that also served as a birthday celebration for Lil’ Cease, who turned 43 on Friday.
Biggie died in 1997 after he was shot in Los Angeles in a drive-by shooting.