Busta Rhymes Inspires With Emotional Lifetime Achievement Award Speech At BET Awards

At the 2023 BET Awards, Busta Rhymes was recognized for his outstanding contributions to hip hop as he received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. In a heartfelt acceptance speech, the 51-year-old rap legend shared valuable insights and called for unity and positivity within the genre.

Amidst thunderous applause and a standing ovation inside the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday night (June 25), Busta Rhymes took to the stage to express his gratitude. Overwhelmed by the love and support from the audience, he confessed, “I’m deeply moved, and it brings tears to my eyes.” Removing his sunglasses and wiping away the tears, Busta received even more cheers of encouragement.

Reflecting on his groundbreaking career, the Brooklyn-born artist recounted his journey to stardom, which had its share of challenges. He openly admitted feeling apprehensive when his former group, Leaders of the New School, disbanded in the mid-’90s, leaving him uncertain about his future and responsible for providing for himself.

“I ain’t never wanted to be a solo MC,” he revealed. “I ain’t like the responsibility of making a full song. I’m good with getting to the 16 bars and busting everybody’s ass and getting up out of there.”

Despite his fears, Busta cleverly maneuvered his way into recording studios across New York City, where his idols worked. He possessed a secret weapon… marijuana, that ensured his presence would be welcomed. “I made sure that when my weed was moving around in that studio, I would quickly whip up a 16-bar verse before the weed came back to me,” he recalled. “And I was able to do that quick enough for them dudes to want to hear my verse. 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.’

“I’d go in the booth, and I’d spit, and come out the booth; they couldn’t hear the song without the ‘rah rah’ no more. I did that three, four times a week … By default, I pioneered the feature.”

In closing, the charismatic frontman of Flipmode Squad assumed the role of a hip-hop preacher, urging his fellow rappers to end petty disputes, calling on record executives to promote content beyond negative stereotypes, and encouraging veteran artists to set positive examples for the younger generation.

“We gon’ stop these little petty beefs that we be doing in rap. Y’all messing up the bag, y’all messing up the energy,” he said. “I don’t like when I talk to these dudes that run these streaming platforms and they be talking about we turning the consumer off … We gon’ stop that, we gon’ love each other and we gon’ get to this money.”

Busta also addressed music executives, stating, “Start promoting the greatness that our music embodies. It shouldn’t solely revolve around provocative dancing, drug references, and criminal activities. Let’s broaden our horizons.”

Directing his words to his fellow veterans, he emphasized the importance of maintaining their image and leading by example. “Executives, start promoting everything that can be great in the music, too. It ain’t just gotta be about the ass-shaking and how much drugs we sold and how much dudes we tied up, how much drugs we doing, you know what I’m saying?”

“It’s important. We want y’all to pull up, and we want to give you the information because when I needed it, Big Daddy Kane let me come to his million-dollar crib, EPMD let me used to come to their crib and see all of their real estate, Chuck D used to sit me down and give me the jewels.

“I got the arm put around me to school me and show me how to be groomed and well-raised. Learn what to do, and take it and apply it and do it, secure the win. Y’all gotta do that now, and we gonna do it with y’all ’cause we still bustin’ ass!”