It’s all love in 2023.
Last night (March 29), while appearing at an event celebrating Teyana Taylor starring in the film A Thousand and One, artists Lil Mama and Alicia Keys shared a moment.
In a clip uploaded on social media, the pair embraced one another as they shared a hug, smiles, and a few words with Taylor standing a foot away. Given the unforgettable MTV VMAs stage incident in 2009, such an embrace between Keys and Lil Mama delighted many viewers.
That year, the “Lip Gloss” rapper made headlines nationwide after she crashed Keys and JAY-Z’s performance of their hit single “Empire State of Mind” at the MTV Video Music Awards.
LIL MAMA & ALICIA KEYS HUGGING???
The world is healing 🥲 pic.twitter.com/JQ0HQUiDYO
— ❄️🗝️ (@DiaryOfKeysus) March 29, 2023
At the time, the 33-year-old was witnessing the show from the crowd when she began her approach. Lil Mama initially attempted to get Beyoncé to join her, but she declined. The New York native then walked on stage, nodding her head and enthusiastically throwing her hand in the air, hyping them up. She then joined them in posing as the song ended.
In December 2021, 12 years after the incident, JAY-Z shared his thoughts. During an interview with Rob Markman on Twitter Spaces, the billionaire multihyphenate clarified that he had forgiven Lil Mama and that it was all love.
“That’s our sister. Man, we love her,” JAY-Z said before offering advice. “I wouldn’t recommend people just jumping on other artists’ stages… She’s a New Yorker… She got excited. Things happen. Of course, we love her… yes, she’s forgiven. It’s all love, and she was coming from a place of love; it’s just… may have been a little too excited.”
Two months before, Keys revealed she also forgave the “G-Slide” artist during an interview on “The Morning Hustle Show.” Lil Mama shared shortly after that she appreciated it and that her stance was always love for both of them.
In 2022, when asked if she would collaborate with JAY-Z on another record, Keys said, “It’s so funny ’cause we talk about that a lot because there’s so many songs that come up, and it’s like, ‘Oh, JAY would be crazy on this,’ and ‘Oh, AK would be crazy on this.’ We’re like, ‘But will it ever be like ‘Empire State of Mind?’ So, I wonder if it kind of, you know, hinders us in some kind of way; it’s almost like there’s no topping it… Definitely, we are not limited, and I’d love to do another collaboration with my brother.”