Today (October 10), the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards will be airing after filming took place in Atlanta last week. We got a look at what some of our favourite stars wore on the red carpet already, but when it comes to what went down inside, there’s still much to be seen on the small screen this evening. Fat Joe was tapped to host the annual ceremony, and ahead of its premiere, he spoke with PEOPLE about the artist he desperately wanted to see perform, but unfortunately couldn’t secure.
“You know who I didn’t successfully get was Will Smith,” the Terror Squad lyricist confessed, revealing that his hope was to have the actor do a hip-hop 50 tribute. “I was really trying to get Will Smith to come out and do ‘Summer Time’. He’s filming ‘Bad Boys,’ but we tried. We try to pull off a miracle if we can. We try to pull a cloud out of the sky,” Joe additionally noted.
Read More: Boosie Badazz Giddy Over Fat Joe’s BET Hip Hop Awards Praise
Fat Joe Wanted to See Will Smith Perform “Summertime”
As for what viewers can expect to see, increased confidence from the 53-year-old is on the list. This marks his second year MCing the event, which he’s long been preparing for. “I always think back to being in junior high and doing the talent shows and then Apollo Theater Amateur Night and it all leads to this. And so it’s an honour for me,” Joe revealed. He also shared that we’ll see a total of eight outfit changes throughout the evening in an attempt to keep up with the notoriously stylish women of rap.
He may not have been able to come through for the annual BET Hip Hop Awards, but that doesn’t mean Will Smith isn’t still bringing new contributions to the genre. Just last month he announced that his Class of ’88 podcast will be coming soon to examine the world of rap during his younger years. Read more about that project at the link below, and let us know if you’ll be watching Fat Joe on hosting duty later this evening in the comments.
Read More: Will Smith Announces Hip-Hop Podcast, “Class Of ’88”
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