Busta Rhymes was overcome with emotion when he was honored with the lifetime achievement award during the BET Awards on June 25.
“So, I’m gonna wear it on my sleeve. I do wanna cry,” he began, as the audience cheered wildly. He then a took a towel and dabbed at his eyes.
Rhymes, 51, talked about how he began his career as a member of Leaders of the New School while mentioning his kids.
“My oldest child was a 3-year-old in the ‘Woo-Hah!!’ video back in ’96. He’s 30. He’s right here,” he said while pointing out how five of his six kids were at the awards show.
Rhymes said he was scared when Leaders of the New School broke up because he didn’t want to be a solo artist. The rapper then noted how he got to work with other artists by sneaking into studios after asking receptionists who was coming in to record.
“I would act like I was working in those studio rooms the night before and I forgot something in there. ‘Y’all, I left my rhyme book. I gotta get something. I gotta look for something. Good to see y’all. Can I come through?’” he recalled.
The Grammy nominated artist said he would quickly write lyrics and showcase his work.
“And when they asked me what was I doing, I said, ‘Let me go in the booth and do it. I ain’t telling you my rhyme until you let me in the booth,’ and I go in the booth and I spit,” he said
Rhymes said the artists would want his raps, so he’d bill them and as a result, he began a new era in rap.
“I ain’t got to split it up with nobody in the group. I liked that. Long story short, by default, I pioneered the feature,” he said.
The “Break Ya Neck” rapper expressed his appreciation for the career he’s had.
“I just am grateful that the blessing that has been bestowed upon me and this gift that I’ve been given and this fire that continues to burn as a passion in my soul that allows me to get in any situation from the stage to collab and with whoever,” he said.
Rhymes also got emotional thanking his friends on stage with him before speaking about disagreements in the rap world.
“We gonna stop these little petty beefs that we be doing in rap,” he said. “Y’all messing up the bag. Y’all messing up the energy. I don’t like when I talk to these dudes that run these streaming platforms and (they’re) talking about, ‘You know, we turning the consumer off because there’s so much little this and little that going on with you rappers.’ We’re gonna stop that. We’re gonna love each other, and we gonna get to this money.”
After calling out emerging artists like Ice Spice, Coi Leray, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Wu-Tang Clan and Nas, Rhymes gave another impassioned reminder to everyone.
“We’re gonna stop this narrative like we don’t love each other, this divide thing. It’s corny. It’s tired. It’s whack,” he said.
