Every month, Consequence proudly puts the spotlight on an artist who’s poised for the big time with our CoSign accolade. For November 2023, we’re spotlighting the charismatic, confident, rising Lola Brooke and her debut LP, Dennis Daughter. You can listen to the entire episode via our Consequence UNCUT podcast wherever you get your podcasts, or using the player below.
For many, their first taste of Brooklyn rapper Lola Brooke came with 2021’s in-your-face banger “Don’t Play with It.” The track’s skittering trap beat, aggressive flow, and sheer confidence made it a favorite both in the scene and online, sparking somewhat of a viral trend. In the two years since, Lola has hunkered down, developed herself as an artist, and dropped some great one-off tracks along the way. Today (Friday, November 9th), she finally arrives with her much-anticipated debut album, Dennis Daughter, and by the looks of it, a whole lot more people are about to learn of the rising talent.
And yet, talking with Brooke, it’s clear she doesn’t view the new project as an introduction of any kind. From her perspective, her official “hello” came quite a bit ago. She’s been dropping music for years, rapping for even longer, and through it all, she’s simply remained Lola. Dennis Daughter, while a “first” on paper, is merely an extension of the art she’s been working on for a large chunk of her life. She’s the same bold, determined, music-loving Lola Brooke as when she started, so what exactly is she introducing?
“I’ve never had a tingle inside me that didn’t allow me to be patient. I’ve been very patient with myself and my craft and I know timing is everything,” Brooke says of finally releasing a debut full-length. “It’s just a continuation of who Lola Brooke is. I feel as though I’ve been doing music for a while, so I’m over the reintroduction [phase] or introducing myself. Wherever people pick up at is where they pick up at.”
And while it’s most certainly not an introduction, Dennis Daughter is a pretty damn good time to, as she puts it, pick up on Lola Brooke. Beyond the inclusion of “Don’t Play with It,” remixed with new features from Latto and Yung Miami, the record is a concise distillation of Brooke as a rapper, artist, and — most importantly — a human.
The songs find Brooke tapping into a wide range of emotions, showcasing the rapper’s talent for fronting everything from boastful bangers to vulnerable introspections. Tracks like the self-aggrandizing “I Am Lola” (which uses the rapper’s name for the hook) and the anthemic stand-out “Best Side” present the image of Lola that has captured the attention of rap fans around the globe — it’s the artist at her most confident and puffed-up, and it commands respect.
Then, later on in the tracklist, Brooke goes inward and reveals her emotional side, with songs like the love-sick “Vacant Heart” and uncertain “Dear Dennis.” Somehow, it’s also her best side.
“I’m dealing with reality, and music helps me deal with that, so I’m so tapped in with myself that I’m not embarrassed to speak on how I’m feeling,” she explains. “I know how to express my emotions, so I can go from, ‘Oh it’s lit and I’m having fun and I’m so happy,’ to ‘Oh my goodness I’m going through it, I don’t know what’s my next move, I might be feeling depressed…’ Everybody feels like a Friday one day and then the next day they feel like a Sunday.”
“We’re all going through it. I just don’t want to be the artist that always shows my best side,” she continues. “I want to show my best side, but I don’t only want to show my best side. It’s a process of being where I am right now.”
And where is Lola Brooke right now? Poised for an even greater breakout than she’s already accomplished, the type of breakout that will seem inevitable years down the line when her biopic premiers on DisneyNextHuluMaxPrime+. A breakout that was in the cards ever since she left her job at a shelter in 2017 to pursue music.
Which is not to say that it was an easy, overnight trek. Brooke spent years developing as an artist, and even more developing as a person, pushing through financial struggles, personal battles, and the inherent roadblocks that come with being a female MC. Even from childhood, Brooke talks of building up her signature confidence as a means for self-preservation.
“I have so much tunnel vision. I’m an only child, so I had to cater to myself a lot,” she says. “I was lonely. I taught myself how to have fun with nobody. So even [today], when people are in the room, I don’t see them unless I want to see them. I just be so tapped into myself.”
Such self-sufficiency is her superpower; it truly feels like there’s nothing that the 29-year-old rapper can’t take on. It’s evident in her commanding presence as a performer, her boastful yet vulnerable lyrics, and even her nickname of “Big Gator.” It’s all part of the Lola Brooke persona.
Though, calling it persona almost feels disingenuous. Nothing is put on or played up for the camera. Nothing about Dennis Daughter is fake. It’s why she wears her heart on her sleeve, why she shares both her highest highs and lowest lows with her audience. She’s a deeply human artist, and what you see is what you get: Lola “Big Gator” Brooke, no more, no less.
“I’m just Lola,” she tells Consequence as the interview starts to wrap up. “I really don’t know how to do anything else.”