It’s that time of year again—the 2024 BET Hip Hop Awards are back! And this year brought a quick, bite-sized show, prerecorded and condensed for the modern viewing experience, a.k.a folks who ain’t feeling award shows these days.
The show aired on Tuesday (Oct. 15) from Drai’s Beach Club Nightclub in Las Vegas, with every performance dedicated to the strip club in some fashion. Fat Joe was back on hosting duties, and he came out swinging. Performing his hit song, “Make It Rain,” he not only reminded the people that he does this, but he set the tone for the night—and acts—to follow.
As viewers are used to seeing the nominees presented by their favorite stars, this year, no awards were given at the ceremony, nor were there presenters. The prerecorded show resembled a night out at the club with a T-shaped stage, stripper poles, sections, and attendees dressed in lounge attire.
In this image released on October 15, 2024, GloRilla, tattoo detail, performs during the BET Hip Hop Awards 2024 at Drai’s Beach Club Nightclub at The Cromwell Las Vegas on October 8, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Small/Getty Images
However, BET made sure to enforce the importance of voting in this year’s presidential election as a plethora of rap stars hit the stage, including Bossman DLow, Juicy J, 310 Babii, Trina, Soulja Boy, Roscoe Dash, DJ Holiday, E-40, Big Boogie, 2 Chainz, and Travis Scott who received the 2024 “I Am Hip-Hop” award. Winners of the night included Metro Boomin, Future, The Alchemist, 50 Cent, Sexyy Red, Missy Elliott, Kendrick Lamar—who took home eight awards—and many more.
Take a look at the six best moments from the biggest night in Hip-Hop below.
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Fat Joe Reminds Us Who He Is
Image Credit: Small/Getty Images Fat Joe hit the stage to bring in the 2024 BET Hip Hop Awards, and did it by taking us back to 2006. Assisted by Terror Squad’s Tony Sunshine, Joe performed “Make It Rain” to a crowd ready to jump on the stage and catch the money swirling throughout Drai’s Beach Club And Nightclub.
The Vegas atmosphere was in full effect as dancers twirled about the stage during Lil Wayne’s chorus. “Yeah, I’m in this bi**h with the Terror/ Got a handful of stacks, better grab an umbrella/ I make it rain, I make it rain (oh!) make it rain on them h*es,” Weezy’s legendary hook blared.
The performance definitely set the tone for the rest of the night, as each act arguably had very strip club undertones.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euw-U2Fq11k?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]
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Soulja Boy Shows Why He’s Important To Hip-Hop
Image Credit: Paras Griffin/Getty Images Big Soulja hit the 2014 BET Hip-Hop Awards stage and showed why he’s a pivotal part of the genre’s modern history.
Performing his biggest and most infectious hits including “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” and “Super Soak,” the Atlanta star tore up the stage as he hit his signature dance moves. A long ways from Youtube, the SODMG showed why his influence is familiar with many of the rappers of today who heavily rely on dance moves to push their songs.
Bringing millennial nostalgia to Gen-Z, the 34-year-old also tapped Roscoe Dash to hit the stage to perform “All The Way Turnt Up.”
Revisit the electrifying performance above.
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Travis Scott Receives “I Am Hip Hop” Award
Image Credit: Small/Getty Images Travis Scott dropped the debut to his debut mixtape, Owl Pharoah, a decade ago—I know. Since then, Hip Hop’s sound has drastically changed and Scott’s sound is one of the main reasons for the shift. So, it’s only right that Travis would be honored as a trailblazer for his contributions with BET’s “I Am Hip Hop” award.
Teyana Taylor and Tyla introduced the segment, bigging up the Houston native for “pushing the culture’s sound” and striving to be an “innovative” force in Hip Hop. It was interesting to see BET celebrate a newer school artist like Travis Scott, especially since he feels “nobody f**ks with me,” as the rapper pointed out during his acceptance speech. But with platinum album after record-breaking platinum album, it’s become apparent that the old guard can no longer ignore the cultural cachet he’s amassed. Here’s to 10 more years of Travis Scott’s music.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2CU0ZiHHV8?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]
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GET OUT & VOTE
Image Credit: Small/Getty Images It would be very remiss of BET not to mention getting to the polls to vote in the throes of an election year—so, the network acted accordingly. Fat Joe brought out Las Vegas Congressman Steven Horsford to educate the people on what’s at stake for the Black community this November. Crack spoke about the two candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, briefly detailing their policies, saying, “Look, y’all know we aren’t supposed to talk politics at the party but vote… one candidate is trying to forgive student loans, and the other is trying to bring back stop and frisk. Please vote.”
Horsford then followed up, pleading with viewers to support Kamala Harris for the massive 2024 election. “Celebrating the culture is important,” the congressman voiced to the audience. “So is electing people to office who respect us and have real ideas to make our lives better.”
“I’m voting for Kamala Harris for president,” Horsford said. “I’m voting for Hakeem Jeffries to become the first Black Speaker of the House. I’m voting for better wages. I’m voting to close the racial wealth gap. I’m voting for economic freedom… Let’s remind everyone that our voices matter, and we will determine our future.”
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VP Kamala Harris Stresses The Importance Of The 2024 Presidential Election
Ahead of the 2024 Presidential election and 2024 BET Hip-Hop Awards, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Fat Joe and Too Short about the importance of voting this year.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there that would suggest to people that their vote doesn’t matter,” stated Harris in a clip from their pre-recorded sit-down, which aired during the award show. “As far as I’m concerned, you should never let anybody silence you because when you vote, you actually have the ability to determine the future of our country.”
Addressing how detrimental it can be when false information is spread, she added, “When you tell people that they can’t trust the system, what are they likely to do? Not participate. That’s why I always say don’t ever let anybody take you out of the game. That’s the first step toward never being able to make a difference.”
Madam VP also spoke on her “weak” opponent, Donald Trump, explaining his plans for the country if he wins. “They came up with a plan for Donald Trump if he wins again,” she said. “I encourage everybody to Google it. It’s an 800-, 900-page document. They published it [and] gave it out. It would do things like eliminate overtime pay. It would get rid of the Department of Education, including Head Start. It would do the work of trying to destroy our democracy and really work against middle-class folks. So this is a man who’ll posture like, ‘Hey, support me because I’m tough and strong,’ but he’s weak.”
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2 Chainz Closes The Show And Proves Why He’s “Different” From The Rest
Image Credit: Paras Griffin/Getty Images 2 Chainz gave the 2024 BET Hip-Hop Awards a treat when he hit the stage as the closer for the night. The Atlanta sensation stayed true his Georgia roots, offering live performances of his strip club songs including, “Birthday Song” and “I Luv Dem Strippers.” Chainz even brought the dancers to the stage, twirling and hitting their best tricks on the pole.
Ahead of confetti flying everywhere to cap the celebratory night, 2 Chains performed his classic track, “Watch Out” leading the audience to chant “You getting mad? I’m getting rich!” He finished with “Rich As F**k” and fan favorite, “I’m Different.”
See 2 Chainz hit the stage above.
