Shake the Room is a new interview series in which we highlight rising rappers you need to know. For the inaugural edition, we spoke to Brooklyn native Lola Brooke ahead of her new track, “So Disrespectful.”
Like a modern-day Lil’ Kim in her prime, Lola Brooke exudes a fiery New York energy straight out of the late ’90s and early 2000s from every inch of her petite 4’9″ frame. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and Meek Mill, the Bed–Stuy native kicked down the door in 2022 with her viral hit “Don’t Play with It.” Now signed to Arista Records, Brooke is set to keep the ball rolling with her new song, “So Disrespectful.”
“First, it was 50 Cent when he had ‘Wanksta.’ Then Lil Wayne came and I remember listening to ‘Cannon’ [from Dedication 2] back to back to back to back, just so that I could catch the punchlines,” Brooke tells Consequence about her biggest influences. “I wanted to learn on my own, to understand what exactly he was saying. I even pulled up the lyrics to understand it as well… Then, Meek Mill, it was just the aggression, the hunger. Not knowing him, you can tell what he’s been through and the places that he’s going.”
Elements of each rapper come through on “So Disrespectful,” in which Brooke lets off “42 shots” in tribute to Brooklyn Dodgers pioneer Jackie Robinson over a knocking beat from Reefa Music and Gyard. Gator Season is in full effect, shining through with the hardened attitude that has caught the attention of Lil Kim herself and Future — who each brought out the hometown hero at recent shows — as well as Missy Elliott.
“They was telling me that Future wanted to bring me out at the Barclays, but I thought it was a joke,” Brooke remembers about her New Year’s Eve performance with the I Never Liked You rapper. “So I’m going around, getting my outfit together, finally pulled up to the Barclays, and I met him. I’m like, ‘This is real. Like, Oh, my God, this is really real.’ And then I just took off, but I was so fiending to get on the stage, I didn’t even let Pluto finish introducing who I was or who he was bringing out. I just heard my music and I just ran out. And when I watched the video back, I see he was like, ‘Oh, oh, woah. Okay, Lola.’ I was so excited, I couldn’t even hold it in.”
She’ll be taking on more big stages this year, including Billboard’s The Stage at SXSW in Austin, Texas next week. Brooke will also join A Boogie with da Hoodie on tour in the UK and hit a number of festivals throughout the summer. You can catch her live by snagging tickets here.
