As video footage surfaced over the weekend revealing that Beyonce tried to stop Lil Mama’s ill advised ambush of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, many at the 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards wondered if anyone would attempt any shenanigans at the annual event honoring the biggest names and hit-makers in the industry. As the proceedings wore on, and superstar after superstar graced the stage — a strange phenomenon occurred.
Absolutely nothing happened.
No one snatched a microphone from anybody. No altercations happened backstage. No impromptu uninvited guests stormed the stage during performances. It was relatively quiet. And one reliably loud, platinum selling superstar was noticeably absent. Kanye West did not make an appearance at the awards show taping, and no one attempted to make their bid for YouTube infamy in his stead.
With the abrupt cancellation of his tour with Lady GaGa in September, and his silence and lack of public appearances in the last few weeks, one can’t help but believe that Mr. West has decided to make good on his promise to ‘take some time off,’ after he appeared on the “Jay Leno Show” to apologize for his infamous hijacking of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the VMAs last month.
West indirectly claimed that he hadn’t taken the time to properly mourn his mother and that was the reason for his upcoming sabbatical. But he also had to recognize that a real backlash was forming against him after the Taylor Swift debacle. Public opinion can turn on a dime, and his public outbursts had gone from laughable sideshow to ugly abusiveness. He needed to step away from the spotlight before he was cast as the biggest jerk in music.
It should be noted that, in a year when we’ve seen scores of ridiculous behavior at Awards shows — Kanye & Lil Mama at the VMAs, Ving Rhames’ Baby Boy flashback at the BET Awards — the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2009, proved to be the sanest and most predictable show of them all. –todd williams
