50 Cent says he regrets flirting with Vivica A. Fox after accepting the award for Best New Artist at the 2003 BET Awards. He shared a clip of the viral moment he complimented her on stage on Instagram, Sunday, admitting he needs to learn when to “shut the f*ck up.”
“I’m just happy to be present with all of these beautiful people in here… I want to thank Vivica Fox for wearing that dress too,” he said at the time. In the caption of his post, he added: “I look back at some of the sh*t that I did I gotta learn to shut the fvck up. Look at that look at end that’s trouble. [grinning face emoji] WTF.” 50 and Fox dated for a brief period afterward, but have made headlines for speaking about one another numerous times in the years since.
50 Cent & Vivica A. Fox Attend 2003 MTV Video Music Awards
NEW YORK – AUGUST 28: Rapper 50 Cent and actress Vivica Fox pose during the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on August 28, 2003 in New York City. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)
After 50 said that Black women “get mad” and “get angry” during an appearance on Lil Wayne‘s Young Money Radio back in 2020, Fox slammed him on Cocktails With Queens. “He just has such f*ckboy tendencies,” she said at the time. “When I read that, I was like, ‘Really?’ You would say that because you don’t want anyone to challenge you or talk to you. You want somebody to sit over there and be a pretty little dog that you can just pay. You can’t handle a Black woman, can you?” 50 ended up accusing Fox of still being in love with him afterward.
As a music writer, the annual ceremony is mandatory viewing. However, as a Black woman obsessed with Black creative expression, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to overlook its flaws (covert microaggressions, racially charged snubs, and seemingly willful exclusion). Given the Grammys’ checkered past, I shouldn’t have any expectations of the event. But I just can’t abandon hope for the ceremony. Its latest categoric expansion seems to suggest that I’m not delusional for believing that the landscape of the Grammys can change for the better.
Similarly, for most musicians, divestment isn’t an easy fix either. Given the financial opportunities tethered to earning a coveted gramophone, acts are committed to the advancement of the Grammys. In the meantime, what’s the alternative? Platforming, advocating for, and investing in Black-centered ceremonies — because, yes, Black music awards shows still matter.
If not for the continued communal conversation and unapologetic displays of Black joy — such as Sexyy Red’s impromptu performance at the 2023 BET Awards — Black awards shows are also crucial for their historical preservation of Black art. Due to the erasure of Black musicians’ impact and the shrinking media sphere, archiving Black artists’ works has become more important than ever.
BET, Soul Train, and even the Source Awards (because, as André 3000 so eloquently put it: “Da Souf got sum to say”) all have carried the torch of cultural documentation when others, such as the AMAs, Grammys, and VMAs — didn’t deem it vital — or profitable. Here, we take a look at some of the award shows decided for Black entertainment in need of the public’s support.
BET Awards
The BET Awards remain the creme de la creme of Black award shows. Spanning the decades, the BET Network has introduced a variety of ceremonies to honor Black art: the namesake show, the hip-hop-centered ceremony, the BET Walk Of Fame show, the Gospel Awards, and more. Over the years, the BET Awards have served as the place for legacy acts to receive their flowers and, in turn, pass the baton to the next generation — i.e., the 2003 ceremony when Michael Jackson paid homage to James Brown.
Before Beyoncé was the global music icon she has become, the BET Awards called it first (via Mo’Nique). As other programming executives ignored the impact of Luther Vandross, the BET Awards dedicated an entire evening to the late singer. When other ceremonies failed to properly pay tribute to fallen stars, the BET Awards were there — i.e., the 2020 Prince tribute. The BET Awards also give living legends space to honor themselves, such as New Edition’s 2017 or Mary J. Blige’s 2019 Lifetime Achievement performances.
Though they aren’t perfect — no award show is — the BET Awards and all of their installments offer a constant cycle of appreciation.
Black Music Honors
Just as the title of the ceremony suggests, Black Music Honors is unapologetically Black. Firstly, instead of being held in bigger media markets like Los Angeles or New York City, Black Music Honors is hosted in Atlanta, Georgia.
From there, Black Music Honors focuses its attention on the overlooked medium entertainment demographic. The most common criticism for other shows is they tend to sway too hard in one direction (staid classics or unknown newbies) which is why viewership tends to fluctuate. With Freddie Jackson, SWV, Xscape, and Tamia as past honorees, Black Music Honors confirms Generation X and Xennials are viable audiences.
Lastly, the award show is broadcast by the historic networks: Stellar Network and the Martin Luther King III-co-founded Bounce TV, both Black-owned and Black-targeted commercial entertainment networks.
Black Girls Rock!
As one of the newer award ceremonies here on this list, Black Girls Rock! is the embodiment of what it means to focus on intersectional identities. Before the COVID pandemic put an end to its annual ceremony, the show took pride in highlighting Black women’s contributions to the arts, which often go unacknowledged.
Black Girls Rock! gained mainstream attention after former First Lady Michelle Obama attended the show in 2015. Outside of the ceremony’s focus, organizers don’t forget the less publicized details. For several years, the show was hosted in Newark, New Jersey, a majority Black city on a street named after a Black pioneer, Sarah Vaughan.
Given the city’s rich Black music history, it is the perfect place to honor Black musicians. Since its last show in 2019, a new ceremony has not yet been announced. But even in its short tenure, it created a huge ripple in television programming standards.
McDonald’s 365 Black Awards
Let’s be frank: organizing an award show isn’t a cheap undertaking. That’s why corporate sponsorship for events is so important. Believe it or not, McDonald’s is a key financial contributor to Black music programming. When the fast food chain isn’t collaborating with music’s biggest names, such as Cardi B, Saweetie, or Travis Scott, for specialty menus, it is using its ample resources for music-focused events.
The McDonald’s 365 Black Awards was one of the earliest showings of the corporate giant putting its money where the mouth is in terms of equitable opportunities for entertainers of color. Although the ceremony no longer takes place, McDonald’s hasn’t abandoned Black music events; each year, McDonald’s puts on its annual Gospel Fest.
NAACP Image Awards
The NAACP Image Awards is the epitome of “honoring your own.” Given the civil rights causes platformed by its presenter, the Image Awards’ focus is on acts that have injected their activism work with their entertainment career.
Sadly, the support for the show has continued to dwindle, but during its heyday, music stars like Dionne Warwick drew in massive audiences. Yes, before she was the melodic voice sampled in Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red,” Warwick was one of the very first Black pop stars. During the 1988 ceremony, the late Luther Vandross showcased just how influential Warwick’s music has been with a performance of her charitable single “That’s What Friends Are For.” The single highlighted how she’s served as an ally to the LGBTQ community, raising millions for AIDS research with Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight.
Soul Train Awards
The Soul Train Awards has been a staple in Black households for generations. Since its inception as a variety show, Soul Train has kept its finger on the pulse of Black culture. As fresh faces such as Uproxx cover star Chlöe, Coco Jones, and Fridayy burst onto the scene, the Soul Train Awards are there to welcome them into the fraternity of Black musical excellence.
Each year, the ceremony curates a polished tribute to honor acts of the present (T-Pain) and past (Babyface). One of the Soul Train’s standout tributes came in 2010 when Chrisette Michele, Kem, Tamia, El DeBarge, Dionne Farris, Lalah Hathaway, Rachelle Ferrell, Goapele, and Faith Evans honored Anita Baker.
Stellar Awards
It isn’t a coincidence that many of music’s powerhouse vocalists got their start in religious houses of worship. Gospel is the foundation of several other genres, but most notably R&B. As the first and longest-running ceremony for gospel music, The Stellar Awards continuously amplifies how deeply gospel’s roots run.
Other award shows try to spotlight gospel acts, but more often than not, those performances or acceptance speeches are not televised. But when they are, it is magical (i.e., Chance The Rapper, Kirk Franklin, and Tamela Mann’s medley set at the 2017 Grammys).
Other genres pioneered by Black musicians, such as jazz, dance, country, and rock, have whitewashed their history books. Due to the Stellar Awards’ due diligence, the same can not be said of gospel music.
Trumpet Awards
Before Timbaland and Swizz Beatz had the multi-million dollar idea for artists to put their catalogs on display for a walk down memory lane, there was the Trumpet Awards. While Verzuz was intended to ignite a competitive spirit, the Trumpet Awards’ mission was to be commemorative.
Founded by civil rights leader and pioneering broadcasting executive Xernona Clayton, the televised event was a time capsule for acts whose legacies tend to be overlooked. The unapologetic admiration displayed by Steve Harvey during the Verzuz showdown between The Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind, and Fire form the essence of a Trumpet Awards ceremony. The Trumpet Awards made sure that the influence of groups such as The O’Jays, The Whispers, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and more was not forgotten.
UNCF Benefit
Although the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) benefit isn’t exactly an award show, it surely veers that way. As it baits viewers in with culture-shifting music performances, the UNCF benefit does what others often conveniently forget to do — hold entertainers socially accountable. Before Cardi B was ranting about public funding crises on Instagram or flexing her love for world history, UNCF demanded that celebrities use their platforms to shine a light on important topics like education. Just look at Megan Thee Stallion’s outreach work as a case study. The Texas Southern University graduate didn’t let her booming rap career derail her pursuit of higher education.
The only path to success for Black children should not be tethered to their ability to sing or dribble a ball. By way of the UNCF benefit, public figures lent their voices to show that pursuing a career in the medical field, sciences, or humanities is just as important. One of UNCF’s most beloved performances was The Color Purple star Fantasia’s tribute to Patti LaBelle in 2009.
VH1 Hip Hop Honors
Long before Hip-Hop 50 programming was on the minds of any television producer, VH1’s Hip Hop Honors was one of the first series to carve out a primetime slot to celebrate rap’s titans. Across the event’s thirteen-year run, it proved to be at the forefront of flower giving, paying homage to Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Missy Elliott, Kennedy Center honoree Queen Latifah, and the original “Queen Bee” Lil Kim long before other larger established ever batted an eye.
Given the cycle in which new rappers rise and fall from fame, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for acts to cement their legacy. Contrarily, hip-hop’s issue with ageism favors newbies’ dismissal of their predecessors. The VH1 Hip Hop Honors put an end to that. For a few hours each year, you’d be taken to school. Rookies were forced to learn where their flows, samples, and fashion sensibilities derived from. Now that Hip-Hop 50 has passed, it’d be a shame if the culture stopped honoring its pioneers.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
During a recent appearance on The Breakfast Club, JT spoke on her infamous phone-throw at the 2023 BET Awards. She had gotten into a spat with her partner, Lil Uzi Vert, and fans speculated that it surrounded their interaction with Ice Spice. The City Girl denies this, however, and claims that it was only about a seat.
According to her, Uzi offered her seat to ASAP Bari, and refused to check him when she returned to sit down. “You should have made sure I had that seat,” she said on the show. “It was never about another artist.” She went on to claim that Bari should have gotten up to give her the seat and didn’t, resulting in her hurling her phone at Uzi.
It appears as though Bari didn’t take too kindly to being brought into the conversation, as he had some choice words for JT on his Instagram Story today. “He ain’t want you [sitting] there d*mb b*tch,” he wrote. “Stop lying.” Bari went on to say that their fight did actually involve the “Deli” performer, despite JT’s claims. “She was really mad about Ice Spice not about me,” Bari added. “She called him a groupie cause he was sitting next to her.” He didn’t stop there, however. He went on to take aim at City Girls’ album sales, noting how RAW is expected to sell roughly “6k.”
Now, JT’s seemingly responded on Twitter with a diss of her own. “Hoe a** n***as be so jealous of b*tches!” she wrote. What do you think of ASAP Bari’s response to JT claiming he was part of the problem leading to her spat with Uzi? Do you think he went overboard, or was his reaction fair? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
N.O.R.E. says that he got emotional while listening to Busta Rhymes’ BET Awards Speech from earlier this year. While speaking with Trick Daddy for an episode of his, YouTube cooking show, Bitch I Got My Pots, the two discussedBusta winning the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony.
“That was hard,” N.O.R.E. told Trick Daddy on the show. “I teared up, I teared up. I wasn’t gonna say nothing till you said something, but I teared up, I still haven’t gotten on the phone with him to tell him that I didn’t appreciate him making me cry like a girl.” Trick Daddy agreed while added: “He’s one of those dudes where if you’re a hater, you’re never supposed to like him.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 25: Honoree Busta Rhymes (2nd R) accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award from (from L) Spliff Star. DJ Scratchator, and Marlon Wayans onstage during the B.E.T. Awards 2023 at Microsoft Theater on June 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
During the celebrated speech, Busta reflected on trials and tribulations from throughout his career. In doing so, he also broke down into tears. “All right. So, I’m going to wear it on my sleeve. I do want to cry,” Rhymes began at the time before taking a long moment to let his emotions get the better of him. He continued: “I’m going to say I am grateful that the blessing that has been bestowed upon me and this gift that I have been given and this fire that continues to burn as a passion in my soul, that allows me to get into any situation — from the stage to collabing with whoever — and making sure that I am far from the weak link. Because I enjoy walking away from a situation saying, ‘I bust ass!’” Check out N.O.R.E.’s comments on the speech below.
N.O.R.E. Praises Busta Rhymes’ Speech
Elsewhere in the speech, Busta recalled sneaking into New York City recording studios to watch his favorite artists work. He would bring a slow-burning weed to pass around that would buy him enough time to get off his own raps.
Warren G recently reflected on performing during the Up In Smoke tour in 2000 alongside Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. He discussed the star-studded concert while walking the red carpet at the 2023 BET Awards with HipHopDX, earlier this month.
“We was high the entire tour,” he told the outlet. “Best memory ever. One of the best memories I have was when we was in Miami. Dre rented the whole club, and we had a ball. We had been working and working and working. So we just had a chance to relax for the day. He just rented the club and we had a ball. I can’t go no further than that.”
CANNES, FRANCE – JULY 18: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Warren G, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre attend the Beats By Dre Party at Gotha Club on July 18, 2011 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Toni Anne Barson/WireImage)
While Dre and Snoop served as the headliners on the Up In Smoke tour, they brought along several other artists during the 44 show tour. In addition to Warren G, other artists included Ice Cube, Eminem, Proof, Nate Dogg, Kurupt, D12, MC Ren, Westside Connection, Chilldrin of da Ghetto, Mel-Man, Tha Eastsidaz, Doggy’s Angels, Devin The Dude, Crucial Conflict, TQ, Truth Hurts, Xzibit, The D.O.C., Hittman, and several more. The tour ran from June through August in 2000.
Warren G has been close with Snoop Dogg for decades having formed the hip-hop trio 213 together with Nate Dogg in the 1990s. Back in April, he recalled Snoop standing up for him while discussing his relationship with Suge Knight. “Snoop told Suge: ‘You could have had Warren G. You let Warren G go.’ Them n****s was trippin’,” Warren told host Ray Daniels on The Gauds Show. “And I was trippin’ too! It wasn’t like I’ma let you n****s just come and try to get off on me or try to do whatever y’all do. N***a I got Regulators! I didn’t want it to be like that. And I still be saying Suge is a good dude. He was a good dude, it’s just that when all the money shit started kicking in, all that other shit started kicking in, the Hollywood shit started kicking in, that’s when he changed.”
It’s hard for anybody to tell what will be a hit song ahead of time, especially which songs will be someone’s breakout hit. For Sexyy Red, her breakout hit “Pound Town” didn’t go over well at first. She told HipHopDX, “I was in the studio, and I showed it to my team, and they were like, ‘this ain’t it.’” That probably won’t come as a surprise to many fans. Dozens of rappers and artists across different genres have had similar label difficulties. Thankfully, Sexyy Red fought for the song that would eventually become her breakout. “I said this is the one! This the one! I’m telling you!”
The Tay Keith-produced single has taken off with fans and Sexyy Red knew it would. “I knew. I said, ‘we doin’ this, because we like the song.’ And it’s my stuff. My fans love me for being me. Imma drop it.” The instant success the song achieved with fans generated enough buzz to get Nicki Minaj’s attention. The resulting remix “Pound Town 2” became Sexxy Red’s biggest hit to date.
Sexyy Red has had a busy 2023 so far. Last month, she released her major label debut album, Hood Hottest Princess. Just a few days ago she released the hilarious new video for the album track “Looking For The Hoes (Ain’t My Fault).” She’s also followed the album up with two new singles since then. Later in June, she teamed up with “Area Codes” rapper Kalii and XXL Freshman Finesse2Tymes on the song “Sheisty.” And just over the weekend, she released her new single “Skee Yee.”
Despite having a breakout year things haven’t been exactly smooth for Sexyy Red. A few weeks ago she walked off stage during a show at Summer Smash. After people in the crowd threw things at her on stage she cut her performance short. When she responded to the controversy with an Instagram post, however, she showed just how little it affected her. What do you think of Sexxy Red’s label not believing in “Pound Town?” Let us know in the comment section below.
Offset reflected on his BET Awards performance with Quavo, which honored Takeoff. In an Instagram Live video, Offset gave a little background on how the performance happened and also expressed joy in having the moment with his Migos brother.
“I love all my fans. I love of y’all. We did the BET performance, man. It was iconic, man. It cleared my soul. Me and my brother Quay, man, we put that together within, like, 16 hours, like, 15 hours …We do that ’cause we’re some real stars. We do this music. We the greatest group to ever touch the mic. RIP my brother, Take. We did it for my brother Take. Me and Quay stood tall, brother to brother. And I appreciate everybody for supporting. It was a movie, it was a vibe. We needed that for the culture.”
The unannounced tribute aired as the show returned from commercial, positioning Quavo and Takeoff on opposite sides of a heavenly spotlight, which took the place of Takeoff. The two supported Takeoff’s verse on “Hotel Lobby” before performing their classic anthem “Bad and Boujee.”
The moment was both important to the legacy of Takeoff but assuming to place a nail in a standing beef between the two Migos members.
BET released footage from backstage as T.I. celebrates the two and echoes a statement that all of Hip-Hop had: “Love to see it.”
You can see that moment and the full performance below.
The BET Awards took place in Los Angeles over the past weekend and plenty of storylines emerged from the show. Now, Da Lench Mob rapper J-Dee has taken his thoughts about the show to Instagram. He was pretty upset with both Tyler Perry and the show itself for how it ignored many of rap’s west coast pioneers. The show sought to pay tribute to hip hop’s 50th anniversary with a major group performance. Included in the performance were artists like E-40, Warren G, Redman, and more. J-Dee clearly wasn’t happy with the lack of west coast representation.
“F*CK THE BET AWARDS YOU N*GGAZ STILL ON THAT BULLSH*T SO NOW WE SET TRIPPN ON BET OUT WEST. YOU BANNED FROM LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA UNTIL I START SEEING SOME WESTCOAST RAP VETERANS GET THE PROPS WE MFN DESERVE, J-Dee said on Instagram. He followed it up by calling out Tyler Perry directly. “@tylerperry YOU FOUL AS F*CK FOR THAT. NO MC REN NO ICE CUBE NO ALONZO WILLIAMS NO ONE WHO PAVED THE WAY OUT WEST 40 YEARS AGO.”
That was far from the only storyline coming out of the BET Awards. The biggest one by far was a fight that went viral between Lil Uzi Vert and their partner JT. Though many thought it had something to do with Ice Spice, both parties have denied that. The pair also showed up together at Uzi’s own Pink Tape party a few days later to prove things were fine.
Some of the biggest performances of the night also stole the show. Latto delivered a performance so great it was literally knocking people over. Offset and Quavo also surprised everyone by reuniting to pay tribute to Takeoff, who passed away last year. Ice Spice herself also performed during the show. She brought hits like “Munch” and “Princess Diana” to the BET stage much to the amusement of many fans. What do you think about J-Dee’s issues with the BET Awards? Let us know in the comment section below.
Quavo is off the BET Awards stage and back in the studio, crafting new tunes. Hitting Instagram, Quavo announced his new project, Rocket Power, which is currently in the mixing stages.
“We Mixing Ima Call For Ur Ear Soon #RocketPower,” Quavo wrote.
Offset and Quavo are cool, but that will not result in the immediate return to making music as Migos. According to TMZ, the duo have been cool for some time, mending their relationship behind the scene.
Sources reveal the two are currently not planning to record new music as a unit. The BET Awards moment was solely for honoring Takeoff, and the Migos name may never be used again.
The unannounced tribute aired as the show returned from commercial, positioning Quavo and Takeoff on opposite sides of a heavenly spotlight, which took the place of Takeoff. The two supported Takeoff’s verse on “Hotel Lobby” before performing their classic anthem “Bad and Boujee.”
The moment was both important to the legacy of Takeoff but assuming to place a nail in a standing beef between the two Migos members.
BET released footage from backstage as T.I. celebrates the two and echoes a statement that all of Hip-Hop had: “Love to see it.”
You can see that moment and the full performance below.
Over the weekend at the BET Awards Trina performed alongside Trick Daddy and Uncle Luke. While the performance was good, many fans were focused on something else entirely. Trina’s look had pregnancy rumors swirling for days following the award show performance. Now, her reps have reached out to TMZ to confirm that she is not pregnant. The rep claimed that her change in appearance is from weight fluctuation, not a child. The report concludes that Trina also wishes her fans would move on from this assumption.
“She is not pregnant despite fans’ speculation following her performance at the BET Awards. Just like any other woman, her weight fluctuates. She is asking for fans to move on from this,” the rep’s statement reads. if that sounds like deja vu, it’s because she dealt with similar allegations in 2021. After a performance at that year’s edition of the Award Show fans also came away assuming that she could be pregnant. She also had to deny the rumors then as well.
Trina has been popping up on plenty of features recently. Earlier this year when GloRilla dropped a new Bonus Edition of her Anyways, Life’s Great EP, Trina was in the tracklist. She most recently joined Flo Milli and Maiya The Don on a recent remix of “No Love.” The all-girl remix is fittingly labeled as the “Shemix.” She also recently celebrated the 13th anniversary of her album Amazin. Her 5th studio album dropped back in 2010 and had features from Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and Rick Ross.
Last year she teamed up with Saucy Santana on a song meant to get people to the ballots. The pro-voting anthem “No Voting No Vucking” dropped early in October just before it was time for many to vote. It came just a month after she made her official wrestling debut. Her appearance on AEW Rampage in September of last year surprised many but ultimately went over decently well. What do you think of Trina denying the pregnancy rumors? Let us know in the comment section below.
