For rising star Lola Brooke, not only does her name embody where she’s from, but her hometown is more than a place she grew up; Brooklyn is who she is.
In a new editorial cover story with MEFeater, Lola — deemed the “Heiress of New York” — detailed her connection to her borough, and how New York artists have influenced her as her stardom grows.
“I feel the love from Brooklyn every day, and I cherish that,” she expressed. “It’s a connection I’ll always hold close to me and will never play about. I’ve been putting in the work this long for my city. Whenever I cross that bridge, I want to make sure I bring home a win. It’s not a win only for me; it’s a win for Brooklyn every day—all day. We all will win.”
She added, “The love that I feel for Brooklyn is between Brooklyn and myself. For now, it’ll have to speak for itself, and…who knows.”
For the 20-something-year-old, growing up in the Big Apple gave her “tough skin,” and she admitted to seeing some things that she wish she hadn’t.
“You have to be from New York to really get it, but one thing I can say is that I wouldn’t be the woman I am today if I wasn’t from New York,” she shared about her upbringing. “You gain a certain level of tough skin from living in New York and a certain kind of discretion from walking on those pavements. Yeah, there was a lot of violence — I was exposed to seeing some things I would have liked to stay away from, but I can’t change any of that at the end of the day. I wouldn’t want to because I am who I am because of my upbringing.”
Lola’s distinct voice and hard-hitting delivery has been compared to some of the Rap vets who come before her like Foxy Brown and Lil’ Kim, whom she’s also named as some of her musical influences.
“Both of them I look up to,” she spoke of the pioneering “femcees.”
“They walked the same streets I did, literally. There’s no denying their impact; having them both rooting for me means the most to me,” she added.
The “Don’t Play With It” rhymer also named DMX, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Missy, Eve, Busta Rhymes and Meek Mill as some of her biggest inspirations. She also mentioned a possible collaboration with the Dream Chasers CEO coming soon.
“We might already have something in the tuck. Tell Meek we need to tap back in, actually,” she teased.
As much of Lola’s widespread success came from her trending song on social media apps including TikTok, she acknowledged that “things don’t happen overnight” and she’s put in work for years. She recently dropped a remix to the original Billy B-assisted New York anthem with Latto and Yung Miami. See below.
“I’m committed, and I see the vision. Things don’t happen overnight, and those years don’t go in vain,” said the Arista Records signee. “It’s one of the most important aspects of the process. That’s the time when you discover who you are, what you stand for, and what you want to say once you get to that moment or have the following: Those years I spent building up to a breakthrough— which I’m still working towards.”
She ended with, “There’s more work to do. I also have to give thanks to my team, Team 80. When things got tough, or I had doubts, they’ve always been there to help me. It’s bigger than the music with my family.”
Read Lola Brooke’s entire editorial cover story with MEFeater here.