Lil' Kim has revealed her sadness at having to cancel a performance at the Essence Music Festival.

The rapper was forced to pull out of Essence magazine's annual music event at the New Orleans Superdome in Louisiana on Sunday (03Jul16).

However, in a statement issued on Friday (01Jul16), her rep says Kim could not perform due to unfulfilled business obligations. "She's saddened by the news but matters are not within her control," they added.

The 41-year-old, real name Kimberly Denise Jones, later told People.com, "I was looking forward to it. I'm so disappointed and sad about that."

Kim was due to perform alongside Puff Daddy, Mase, French Montana and Faith Evans at the festival which features headline sets from Mariah Carey on Saturday (02Jul16), and Kendrick Lamar on Sunday (03Jul16).

Despite having to cancel this weekend, the mother-of-one says she'll still be performing her hits on Puff's Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour, which starts on 23 August (16), and finishes on 8 October (16).