Return Of The Queen Tour is a headlining tour by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rapper

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...

. The tour, her first since 2010, was launched in support of her promotional singles and to mark her return to the music scene. The tour was first announced in April, 2012. In May, 2012, it was announced that Kim would return to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

for 3 dates starting in September. It would mark her second time performing there following her 2011 performance at ZARfest. However, in July, 2012, the company responsible for organising the shows, Hunnypot Entertainment, announced that the dates had been cancelled. In total the tour had 22 shows around North America and grossed over $6 million.

Background

After the release of her first promotional single, "If You Love Me" in February, 2012, Kim returned to the spotlight with a performance on ''

Rip the Runway ''Rip the Runway'' is an annual fashion show and music show broadcast by BET, held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. 2005 The first ''Rip the Runway'' show was hosted by Fonzworth Bentley and Eva Pigford. 2006 The 2006 ''Rip the Runw ...

'', as well as appearances on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''RapFix'' and ''Sucka Free''. On April 22, the first 11 dates of the tour were announced, with the remaining dates added the following month. She announced the tour via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, saying "#TeamLilKim I can't stay on long. Got 2 get back 2 the Studio. Love U guys & can't wait to see U on the Tour !!!!" The tour bus Kim used was designed, printed & installed in less than 30 hours.

Opening Acts & Special Guests

*Drita D’Avanzo from

Mob Wives ''Mob Wives'' is an American reality television series that premiered on VH1 on April 17, 2011. The show focuses on the lives of several women residing in the New York City borough of Staten Island, whose family members and husbands have been arr ...

(Hosting Bronx show) *

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...

, Juelz Santana,

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

Mr. Cheeks Terrance Kelly (born March 28, 1971), known professionally as Mr. Cheeks, is an American rapper best known for his work with the musical group Lost Boyz, and as a solo artist with the single "Lights, Camera, Action!". Biography 1991–2019: L ...

Pepa Performance Evaluation Process Algebra (PEPA) is a stochastic process algebra designed for modelling computer and communication systems introduced by Jane Hillston in the 1990s. The language extends classical process algebras such as Milner's ...

Cassidy Cassidy may refer to: Personal names * Cassidy (given name) * Cassidy (surname) People * Cassidy (musician) (born 1979), lead singer of Antigone Rising * Cassidy (rapper) (born 1982), American rapper * DJ Cassidy (born 1981), New York DJ * Jame ...

, Fred The Godson,

Papoose Papoose (from the Algonquian ''papoose'', meaning "child") is an American English word whose present meaning is "a Native American child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in t ...

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, Babs Bunny, Somaya Reece, Will Traxx, (Some performed with Kim, while some were there to support, Bronx show only) *Tiff Gabana (Albany show only) *Lynguistic Civilians (Vermont show only) * Shawnna (Illinois show only) *DJ Todd & Nick Fury (Columbus show only) *Naima Adedapo (Milwaukee show only) *DJ Green (Minneapolis show only) *Erica P (Cincinnati show only) *R-Shell, Fieldhouse, Shannon Marie & Prototype XX (Nebraska show only) * Lil' Mama, Apollonia, Natalie Nunn, Somaya Reece (Factory, Hollywood show, support only) *MicahTron, Ill Camille, Ginger & Ms. Be, hosted by Somaya Reece (San Francisco show only) * Da Brat,

City High City High was an American R&B/ hip hop trio consisting of rappers/singers Ryan Toby, Robbie Pardlo, and Claudette Ortiz. City High is best known for their song " What Would You Do?", which earned a Grammy nomination. Career In 2001, City High ...

, Natalie Nunn, Malaysia Pargo & Laura Govan from '' Basketball Wives: LA'',

Shaunie O'Neal Shaunie Henderson ('' née'' Nelson, formerly O'Neal; born November 27, 1974), is an American television personality and one of the executive producers of VH-1's reality TV series '' Basketball Wives'', ''Basketball Wives LA'', and '' Baller W ...

, Toni Monroe, Guyana, The Lady of Rage, Kurupt. (Key Club, Hollywood show)

Setlist

Although an official setlist for the show was never released, songs performed on the tour included #"Queen Bitch" #"Black Friday" #" Not Tonight (Remix)" #"

The Jump Off "The Jump Off" is a song by American rapper Lil' Kim, released as the first single on February 10 in 2003 from her third studio album ''La Bella Mafia''. It was produced by Timbaland and features Mr. Cheeks. The single debuted at number 95 and ...

" / " Mo Money Mo Problems" #"

How Many Licks? "How Many Licks?" is a song by American rapper Lil' Kim featuring vocals by American musician Sisqó from Lil' Kim's second studio album, '' The Notorious K.I.M.'' (2000). Mario Winans and Sean Combs produced the song, and wrote it with Lil' ...

" #"

Get Money "Get Money" is a song by the American rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A., released as the third and final single from their debut album ''Conspiracy'' (1995). "Get Money," whose instrumental is fundamentally a sample of R&B singer Sylvia Striplin's 198 ...

" / "Gettin' Money (The Get Money Remix)" #"

It's All About the Benjamins "It's All About the Benjamins" is a song by American rapper and producer Puff Daddy. It was released as the third single from his debut studio album '' No Way Out''. "Benjamins" is a slang word for money, referring to Benjamin Franklin's image ...

" #" Quiet Storm (Remix)" #"

Lighters Up "Lighters Up" is a single written and recorded by rapper Lil' Kim appearing as the first single off her fourth album, The Naked Truth. It was produced by her ex-boyfriend, record producer Scott Storch. The song has a similar tone to Damian Marl ...

" #"

Let It Go "Let It Go" is a song from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert L ...

" #"Big Momma Thang" #"

Magic Stick "Magic Stick" is a song performed by American hip hop recording artist Lil' Kim, released on April 8, 2003, as the second single from her third studio album ''La Bella Mafia'' (2003). The song features fellow American rapper 50 Cent and was prod ...

" #" Empire State of Mind" #" Not Tonight" #" Crush On You" #" Lady Marmalade" #"Keys To The City" #" Whoa"

Tour dates

;Cancellations and rescheduled shows *May 13, Pensacola show at Vinyl Musical Hall was changed to June 20. *May 17, Austin show at Emo's was moved to June 19. *June 2, Detroit show at The Fillmore was canceled. *June 8, Agoura Hills show was canceled due to fire hazards. *June 16, Las Vegas show at Planet Hollywood was canceled. *June 22, Hammond show at

Horseshoe Hammond Horseshoe Casino Hammond, located in Hammond, Indiana, is a property containing gaming, entertainment, restaurants, bars, and lounges. History Horseshoe Casino originally opened as Empress Casino in 1996 as a , four-level gaming vessel. Horse ...

was canceled. *June 24, Washington, D.C. show at Ibiza's Nightclub was canceled and changed to September 21 at Love Nightclub. *September, 6th-8th shows in South Africa were canceled.

Reception

Critical response

The tour received positive reviews. ''Billboard'' gave positive review for the second show of the tour, stating "As one of her few hometown shows since a sparsely attended gig at Irving Plaza in June 2010, Lil' Kim proved that she can still sting" though noted "Despite several awkward pauses where she vanished backstage, the Brooklyn native carried the show, working the enraptured audience with a live band in tow." Rashaud Thomas of

NBC New York WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo station WN ...

praised the tour, commenting "From the minute she took the stage, the Queen Bee had her court in a trance, rapping along to every one of her hits... After last night’s performance it’s safe to say she’s on the right track."

also gave a good review about the show, saying "Female MCs, take note: The Queen wants her throne back." ''The Source'' also wrote an article, saying "Putting to rest the thought that women in Hip-Hop just can't get along, Kim confirmed that she's already got a record in the bag with Eve and Missy and is still working on her documentary and book." Bene Viera from

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

praised Kim's performance, commenting "The pint-sized beauty’s performance proved one thing–not that anything needed proving–a legend is a legend. The Queen Bee’s return has arrived, and the fans haven’t gone anywhere. Bow down to the throne." while Ernest Hardy of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' added " ..the thing that really girds Kim’s voice and persona is a genuine sweetness that humanizes a steely persona."

References

{{Lil' Kim 2012 concert tours