Kanye West made a surprise appearance at last night’s BET Awards, honouring Sean “Diddy” Combs as the rapper and producer received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Babyface introduced the section, looking back on Combs’ achievements. “He made me feel like I could do anything and go anywhere, and that’s the mark of a great producer,” he said. Babyface then brought out Ye, whose face was covered in a mask, sunglasses and a baseball cap.
“How do we crown our kings? How do we appreciate our kings? To think how far we could just make if off of inspiration, to hear the way somebody chopped a sample in,” West said, recalling repeatedly listening to the original version of ‘It’s All About The Benjamins’.
“To see Puff in real life at the ‘Missing You’ video, just like me tapping, free like a little kid, like, ‘I just need to meet this man. This is my favorite artist.’ You see, I’m saying favorite artist. Everything. Not specifically production, the drip.
“Back then, there was so many rules to hip-hop, and he broke all of them, and broke down all the doors, and understood contracts in a way a lot of us still don’t. Understood money in a way a lot of us still don’t. I go to him for advice to this day. He inspired so many of my choices,” West continued.
“This man has been through and survived a lot of stuff, and broke through a lot of doors, so we could be standing… He broke down so many doors of classism, taste, culture, swag. Puff, if I never told you, I love you. You’re my brother.” See West’s speech in full below:
Ye and Babyface then brought Combs onstage to accept the award. During his speech, he pledged a $1million donation to Howard University, and another $1million to coach Deoin Sanders’ football program at Jackson State University.
Among those Combs thanked were mother, who was in the audience. He also acknowledged several people who had passed in recent years, including Andre Harrell and Kim Porter, Combs’ former partner, who died in 2018.
Prior to Babyface and West’s speeches, Combs appeared onstage as part of a wide-ranging medley that demonstrated his illustrious career, including a performance of ‘It’s All About the Benjamins’ with The LOX and Lil’ Kim, ‘I’ll Be Missing You’ with Faith Evans, his recently released Bryson Tiller collaboration ‘Gotta Move’ and more. Watch that below:
This year’s BET Awards were held on June 26 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, and also included performances from the likes of Lizzo, Chance the Rapper, Jack Harlow and more.
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