The Bad Boy rapper was celebrated at the BET Awards on Sunday as the entity gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the hip-hop genre.
Among those who gave commendations to Diddy was his friend Kanye West who said he came out of his ‘being dead’ hiatus to celebrate the rapper.
“I took a little hiatus. I said I wanted to just, like, declare myself legally dead for a year,” West began.
“I just wanted to be off the grid. Puff is pretty persistent,” he added.
Adding that his Puff Daddy era was very inspirational to him, Kanye added that he always looked up to Diddy, noting that he still takes business and financial advice from the Bad Boy Records label founder.
“Back then, there was so many rules to hip-hop — and he broke all of them,” Kanye said.
Kanye West added a special thanks to Diddy for his many choices, including that of his wife Kim Kardashian.
“He inspired so many of my choices,” Ye said. “So many of my life choices. My wife choices. And here we are. Thanks for that, Puff.”
Diddy was celebrated by a number of his former artists and collaborators whom he brought on stage with him. Among these were artist Jodeci who opened the medley with a performance of “Come & Talk to Me,” then Mary J. Blige with her “My Life smash” “and Diddy even chiming in on his own “Victory.”
Rapper Shyne who is now the Belizean Opposition leader also had a rare stage appearance where he performed “It’s All About the Benjamins,” featuring the LOX and Lil’ Kim. There was also a tribute to the Notorious B.I.G.
As for his acceptance speech, Diddy ensured that he shouted out several people who were there for him during his hard times, including his ex-girlfriend Cassie and his deceased baby mother, Kim Porter, who died in 2018.
A key part of his acceptance speech was also his remarks on the collective responsibility of the black community.
“We’re not just here for ourselves, we’re here for our ancestors,” he said. As part of his own efforts, he pledged a $1 million donation to Howard University and another $1 million to HBCU Jackson State University.
