Hip Hop News

This past Sunday, the 2021 BET Awards crowned Queen Latifah with their Lifetime Achievement Award in what was a rather heartwarming moment. With contemporaries like Lil Kim and MC Lyte donning the stage, her presenters performed a medley of her most beloved songs, including “U.N.I.T.Y,” and “Just Another Day.”

Accompanied by her father, the icon went on to give her acceptance speech, saying “I’ve always celebrated women, because I was raised by a proud Black woman, and raised by a father who loves women. We can’t live without each other. I wanted to celebrate us because I know together we stand stronger than when we tear each other apart.”

Emotional, yet poised, Latifah closed out by thanking everyone in her circle through the decades. Lastly, she belted out a timely “Happy pride!” before making her way off the stage to a respectfully roaring audience, overflowing with members who the award winner likely paved the way for.

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The artist’s imprint on the community has rarely been more evident, with rappers and singers influenced by her 90s stylings taking the stage to honor her. Presented with the award by her longtime friend MC Lyte, the rapper called Latifah “my sister in hip-hop, but even more importantly, my sister in life.” Followed by a montage of peers and fellow artists, including Megan Thee Stallion and Jada Pinkett Smith, her influence on women in the rap world is as clear as can be.

Watch the medley in her honor below and let us know who your favorite guest was. Make sure to find out who else won this past Sunday.

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The 2021 BET Awards is surely one for the books. Following the virtual formatting of last year’s ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s ceremony was filled with numerous iconic moments including Cardi B’s second pregnancy reveal during her performance with Migos, Lil Nas X’s fiery “Montero” performance, and much, much, more.

Zendaya stole the show with her breath-taking Beyoncé-inspired Versace look, while Megan thee Stallion stunned in vintage Jean Paul Gaultier. JT and Lil Uzi Vert notably made their red carpet debut as a couple, sharing a smooch amongst other PDA moments as cameras captured the smitten couple.  

Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET

“My baby & 1 fan,” wrote JT on Instagram, sharing another shot of the couple in the show’s audience following the City Girls performance of their hit “Twerkulator.”

JT rocked a Valdrin Sahiti gown, while Uzi elected to wear camo print pants paired with a white tee, a vest, and timbs. Uzi notably wasn’t nominated for any awards at the ceremony this year, but likely came to show support to his beau. 

Uzi and JT announced their relationship during quarantine, proudly showing off their couple status on their respective social media avenues. JT has said she imagines her “future kids” with Uzi, and she’s also got his name inked on her skin. 

From the looks of it, the rap duo does seem pretty happy to have each other. 

Rich Fury/Getty Images

Rich Fury/Getty Images

Khris Middleton has been one of the key stars for the Milwaukee Bucks, however, some have questioned whether or not he is ready to be the number one option on a team. With Giannis Antetokounmpo as his teammate, Middleton has been able to serve his role as a more than solid second option who can unleash for some pretty impressive performances. Game 3 against the Atlanta Hawks just so happened to be one of those instances as he scored 38 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter.

After Game 3, Giannis was asked about Middleton’s performance and whether or not it bothers him that his teammate is considered to be more of a closer. As Giannis explained, his main goal is to win and that all of that ego stuff can be pushed to the side. He would much rather give the ball to the teammate with a hot hand, than try to do it all himself.

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“I want to be a winner. I have the whole game to be ‘the guy.’ I don’t care about being the guy in the fourth quarter,” Giannis said. “I trust Khris to death. If Khris asks for the ball, better give him the ball.”

This sort of team-first attitude has served the Bucks well throughout the postseason, and there is no denying that they have a very good shot at winning the title this year. If they do, then Giannis’ legacy will be cemented forever. 

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Rising Florida artist Foolio has been putting in work with recent singles such as “Whip Bump” and the Fantasia-inspired “When I See You,” and he’s also been making a name for himself with his antics. Earlier this month, he hit Instagram to tell his loved ones “do not be an Asian Doll” if something bad happens to him, referring to Asian Doll’s actions following King Von’s death last year. Now, he’s back on the ‘Gram again, and this time he’s taunting NBA YoungBoy’s crew about their misfortune following YoungBoy’s arrest earlier this year.

“Ever since YoungBoy went to jail, them n*ggas been getting shot, popped, beat up, [censored],” Foolio says. “Top, them boys doing bad! They need to let YB out that muhf*cker — them n*ggas need help!”

After catching wind of Foolio’s disrespect towards NBA YoungBoy’s crew, NBA affiliate Herm came through with a scathing response to the Florida rapper’s antics. 

“That man love saying Top name, bruh,” Herm says. “Me personally, bruh. I really feel like he suck d*ck bruh. This n*gga keep a n*gga name in his mouth. N*gga don’t pay you no mind, no attention, my n*gga. Then the crazy part about it, man, you the brokest rapper out of Florida. You broke as a b*tch p*ssy n*gga.”

Judging by the following post to his Instagram story, however, Herm doesn’t appear to be too invested in having any beef with Foolio. “I just sell dogs,” he writes in the story post. “ion beef with rappers, especially over the internet.”

Herm/Instagram

Stay tuned for possible updates.

Despite her accomplishments as an Olympic athlete and the mainstream representation that she has brought to the Trans community, Caitlyn Jenner is an extremely controversial figure in Hollywood. The socialite has aligned herself with the Republican Party, once supported former president Donald Trump, and said that trans athletes shouldn’t be able to compete against women.

Naturally, many people have become critical of Jenner, but in a rather random tweet, R&B singer-songwriter K. Michelle admits that she really likes Caitlyn Jenner and what she stands for.

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“Am I wrong because I like Caitlyn Jenner,” K. Michelle asks rhetorically. “I’m sorry there’s just something strong to me about a person not being afraid to be EXACTLY who they are without the fear of judgement from others.”

Apparently, K. Michelle is a huge fan of Caitlyn Jenner’s individuality, and she doesn’t care if her admiration for Jenner is a controversial take. However, the All Monsters Are Human artist does draw a line when it comes to Caitlyn Jenner entering her name in the race for the governor of California. In response to a fan saying she doesn’t support her political aspirations, K. Michelle replies, “I don’t either but I do feel it’s crazy how mad people get at her [for] being herself.” 

For those unfamiliar with Caitlyn Jenner’s recent foray into politics, the Olympic gold medalist is, in fact, running against Gavin Newsom for the title of California’s next governor. Check out her most recent campaign-related Instagram post, in which she denounces critical race theory, below.

The 2021 BET Awards was an enormous night for Black music. Method Man, Swizz Beatz, Griselda, and others came together for a tributary performance honoring the late DMX, while Zendaya paid homage to Beyoncé with her red carpet look, rocking a custom Versace dress inspired by a similar one Bey wore in 2003. 

Cardi B revealed her 2nd pregnancy during her performance with Migos, while the City Girls debuted some choreographed moves for their rendition of their viral hit “Twerkulator.” H.E.R., née Gabi Wilson, who walked away with two awards after the night concluded, hit the stage for a powerful rendition of her song “We Made It,” playing every instrument on her own as she came through with perfect vocals. 

Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET

The Oscar winner, who was celebrating her 24th birthday during Sunday’s show, impressed the star-studded audience with her drumming skills, as well as her smooth electric guitar runs during the snazzy performance. 

Donning her signature shades and a matching white tee and rockstar pants with fringes, she gave an incredibly captivating performance of the song off her full-length debut project Back Of My Mind. The performance earned praise from presenter Jill Scott, who applauded her moments after her performance for her range in skills. 

Ahead of her performance and the show, she spoke with ET about what it means to be at the show on her birthday. “We’re celebrating our culture. We’re celebrating Black women. We’re also celebrating my birthday so it is a very big day,” she said, adding that she plans to “kill the stage is what I’m going to do for my birthday.” She added that after the award show, “We’re all going to go back to the house and eat — that’s what we doing.”

“I’m so excited to see all the faces and it just feels warm, that’s what it feels like,” H.E.R. said of performing on her birthday. “But you’re going to see something from me that you have never seen before so it’s going to be extra super special.”

Check out her powerful performance above if you haven’t already. 

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Last night, the Atlanta Hawks had a huge chance to go up 2-1 on the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Unfortunately, the Hawks blew their lead as Khris Middleton of the Bucks played one of the best games of his career. He finished with 38 points, including 20 points in the fourth quarter. This allowed his Bucks to take a 2-1 series lead as Game 4 will be played in Atlanta on Tuesday night.

Migos members Offset and Quavo are some of the biggest Hawks fans in the entire world, and on Sunday night, they gave their reactions to the loss. TMZ caught up with both men and while the loss may be a bit concerning, it appears as though neither of them are worried about the rest of the series.

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“We gon’ bounce back,” Offset said. “That was some bulls**t. We bouncin’ back.” Meanwhile, Quavo had a similar take on the matter, claiming that the Hawks will come back and win the NBA championship. “We gon’ get that ring,” he said. “It’s the year.”

The Bucks are one of the best teams in the NBA as they boast the talents of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Middleton, and Jrue Holiday. While the Hawks have Trae Young, he can’t do everything on his own, and for now, the Bucks seem to be the much better team.

Let us know who you think is going to close out this series.

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