How do you prepare to walk the red carpet at hip-hop’s biggest media event of the year?
“I just drunk a few Budweisers,” said Attitude (above), a rapper/songwriter who’s penned songs for Nelly Furtado, Timbaland and Keri Hilson. The Birmingham native and Atlanta resident was one of hundreds ranging from big-name to no-name artists who fed sound bites and swaggerlicious poses to the zoo of photographers, bloggers, journalists and video crews for three hours before the show.
Some, like newcomer Jay Rock, sounded outright clueless. “I ain’t really even know I was gonna be here, man, it’s crazy,” said the Watts, Calif., native, whose single “All My Life” features Lil Wayne, the night’s three-time winner. “Like, all I did was got dressed, threw my clothes on, and they were like, ‘Man, you finna go to the BET Awards.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s what’s up.’”
T.I., on the other hand, spoke with sober appreciation to be in the right place one year after making a detour that earned him federal gun charges and a year-long jail sentence that he begins serving next year. “It feels like a long road traveled, and it feels like a lotta hard work paying off. And now we came through it bigger, better, stronger. Period.” When asked what after-party he planned to attend, T.I. responded, “I’m working, no time for that.”
Forget the over-hyped performances (though the old-school medley featuring Salt N Pepa, MC Lyte, Yo-Yo and Lady of Rage was the night’s best) and over-the-big top fashions (how many top hats does show host fill-in T-Pain own, anyhow?); the BET Hip Hop Awards — like all celebrity-driven media events — is all about being seen and heard, pushing your agenda and promoting your next drop date.
So if you want to see who won what, tune into BET at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23 and labor through the two hour show. But if you want to see the stuff that’s too bootleg for TV, check out our list below:
BEST BIGGIE BLOOPER: The biggest blooper of the night came when Jamal “Gravy” Woolard — who plays deceased rapper Notorious B.I.G. in the biopic due to hit theaters January ‘09 — slipped and called Notorious “hip-hop’s first biological feature” instead of first biographical feature. They shot a retake.
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