The hip-hop community, once again, celebrated a year of hits, comebacks and triumphs at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards. Alhough the show had its fair share of no- shows and on-air lulls, a slew of entertainers, including Chris Brown, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes and Nicki Minaj, stole the show with back-to-back wins and noteworthy performances.
Hosted by comedian Mike Epps with assistance from rap veteran Da Brat, the show kicked off with a performance from Young Jeezy and rapper T.I., making his first televised appearance since his halfway house release as he performed his new single, “I’m Flexin’.”
T.I. wasn’t the only one turning up the shock value last night. The big winner of the night, surprisingly, was R&B singer-turned-sometime-rapper Chris Brown, who took home three awards for his chart-topping “Look At Me Now” featuring Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes, snagging Best Hip-Hop Video, the Reese’s Perfect Combo Award (Best Collab) and the People’s Champ Award. However, the Boy In Detention rapper failed to show up for the ceremony, leaving Rhymes to accept the awards on his behalf, saying that his younger collaborator was busy “getting a lot of money” on his tour.
Oddly enough, the night’s other big winner, Lil Wayne, was also no where to be found. The Young Money general took home two awards, winning the Best Live Performer and Lyricist of the Year trophies. And it seemed like the rest of Young Money camp followed in Weezy’s footsteps, as no one from his camp showed up for he awards show. Not even trophy winner Nicki Minaj, who awards for the Made You Look and MVP of the Year categories.
Major no-shows weren’t the only thing that marred this year’s ceremony, many performances from the likes of Big Sean, Roscoe Dash and Wiz Khalifa were met with mixed reactions from viewers. However, fans were given a treat when R&B legend El DeBarge assisted Rick Ross, Meek Mills and Wale in a performance of their club hits, “That Way” and “I’m a Boss.” Lupe Fiasco and surprise guest singer Erykah Badu, who was dressed in an all-black burka and fedora, also lit up the stage with an energetic rock performance of “Words I Never Said.”
Though hip-hop’s new breed struggled to find their footing on stage, the veterans of the game seemed to ignite the stage with ease. Stepping in to show the new school how it’s done, rap legends DMX , Heavy D, LL Cool J all graced the stage to provide their distinct style of iconic flavor to the ceremony. LL, who won the I Am Hip-Hop Award, treated the audience to a memorable poem about rising above life’s obstacles. Darkman X, who got some assistance from friend Swizz Beatz, took it back to his Ruff Ryders heyday, performing hits like “Get At Me Dog,” “Ruff Ryders Anthem” and “Party Up.” And Heavy D, accompanied by singer Tyrese, gave the golden age of hip-hop a proper revival as the “Overweight Lover” performed classic tracks like “Nuttin But Love,” “Is It Good To You” and “Now That We Found Love.”
And no BET Hip-Hop Awards show would be complete without the much-anticipated cyphers. Though BET released two preview cyphers last week, the network saved the very best for the show itself with Cyphers boasting top-notch freestyles from the likes of B.o.B., Busta Rhymes, Lady of Rage, Skillz and Meek Mills as well as surprise raps from rapper Blind Fury and British singer Estelle.
But the most-talked about cypher came from non other than Eminem’s “Shady 2.0 Cypher,” which showcased himself and Shady Records artists Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse. Highlights including a rapid-fire freestyle involving props from Yelawolf, a possible jab at The Throne (Jay-Z and Kanye West) from New Jersey spitfire Joe Budden, hilarious raps about skinny jeans and Eddie Murphy’s supposed love for transvestites from Joell Ortiz, and a flirty Royce Da 5’9 spitting come-ons to Rihanna. But all were eclipsed by Eminem, who dominated the mic for nearly two minutes, referencing each one of his crew members in his rhymes as well as pop culture phenomenon Casey Anthony.
The BET Hip Hop Awards may not have been everything that fans expected it to be, but it once again showed that the old dogs of the game can always show up the young pups, and that nothing beats the magic of a cypher done well. –nicholas robinson
