By Sky Pinkett
Staff Writer
The 18th annual BET Hip Hop Awards took place on Oct. 15 in Las Vegas, hosted by New York rapper Fat Joe. Along with hosting duties, the rapper kicked off the night’s musical performances with his single “Make It Rain” featuring Lil Wayne.
The BET Hip Hop Awards are an offshoot of the more widely known BET Awards, which began in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television Network to celebrate Black and brown entertainers in music, movies, sports and philanthropy. The founding of the BET Hip Hop Awards ceremony came about five years after its predecessor in 2006.
Gracing the stage at this year’s awards were old and new school hip hop artists alike, with appearances by 2 Chainz, Big Boogie, Trina, Yung Miami, Soulja Boy and GloRilla.
Creating the most buzz from the night’s festivities were the artists who took home the ceremony’s biggest award, as well as those who went home empty-handed.
Future and Metro Boomin won Best Duo or Group for their two collaborative albums this year, “We Don’t Trust You” and “We Still Don’t Trust You.” Travis Scott took home the I Am Hip Hop award, which celebrates any artist who has significantly changed the soundscapes within the hip hop space.
Accepting the award from artists Teyana Taylor and Tyla, Scott thanked his family and God, and dropped words of encouragement to other aspiring artists.
“I come from this generation where they considered us nowhere near ‘Hip-Hop,’ quote-unquote,” Scott said. “Every day, I try to push the sound and coming in as a producer, nobody knew what I was trying to do. But I always had this idea and I had this vision, still to this day, just to take the sound and take things just to the next level. I’m so glad that we made it this far.”
Nominated for 11 categories, Kendrick Lamar took home the most awards of the night with a total of eight, including Best Artist, Best Song and Best Hip Hop Video.
Lamar’s summer-long beef between pop-rapper Drake became the catalyst in producing “Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin’ and “Not Like Us” — two songs that won him most of his eight awards. In contrast, Drake, who was nominated for seven awards, won none.
In another notable loss that night, Megan Thee Stallion, who got the most nominations for this year’s ceremony at 12, also failed to win in any category. The artist’s first independent album, “Megan,” set her up in categories like Best Album and Best Hip Hop Video.
However, the awards show still turned out to be a win for the ladies, as multiple female hip hop artists won in major categories. Nicki Minaj ultimately ended up taking the coveted Hip Hop Album of the Year award for “Pink Friday 2,” along with Missy Elliot winning Best Live Performer and Sexyy Red securing her first BET Hip Hop Award by winning the Breakthrough Hip Hop Artist award this year.
Other big names nominated for this ceremony included Doja Cat, Cardi B, Busta Rhymes, DJ Khaled, Latto, 21 Savage, Common and Lil Wayne.
With several chart-topping rap albums, a historic beef between two of the biggest names in modern hip hop, and an upcoming Super Bowl that will feature a single rap artist for the halftime show, the 2024 BET Hip Hop Awards were the perfect way to close out this amazing year for hip hop music.
