Nipsey Hussle Posthumously Honored With Humanitarian Award & Best Male Hip Hop Artist at the 2019 BET Awards (UPDATE)
Watch the tribute performance by YG, John Legend, DJ Khaled, Mustard, & Marsha Ambrosius.
UPDATE (June 24, 2019): Tonight at the 2019 BET Awards, held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, the late Nipsey Hussle was posthumously honored with the Humanitarian Award. To accept his award, Nipsey’s family and longtime girlfriend Lauren London took the stage to deliver a powerful and emotional speech which was then followed by a tribute performance from YG, John Legend, DJ Khaled, Mustard, and Marsha Ambrosius. Together they performed a medley of Nipsey’s hits including “Real Big,” “Last Time That I Checked,” and “Higher.”
Before the performance, T.I. shared some words on Nipsey, “There will never be another Nipsey Hussle. He was a revolutionary.” He continued, “He inspired people across the world; many are still discovering how legendary he really was.”
Along with posthumously winning the Humanitarian Award, Nipsey also won the award for Best Male Hip Hop Artist, beating out the likes of 21 Savage, Drake, J. Cole, Meek Mill and Travis Scott. The win come just one year after he released Victory Lap.
Watch the tribute to the late Nipsey Hussle at the 2019 BET Awards below.
VIDEO: #NipseyHustle Tribute at the #BETAwards. #TheMarathonContinues pic.twitter.com/CGBFnDyXFc
— Opinionated Me (@opinion8dmecom) June 24, 2019
#NipseyHussle's family accept his Humanitarian Award! #HussleForever 🏁💙 #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/Hf7V6BH4F5
— BET (@BET) June 24, 2019
The Marathon Continues with a tribute to Nipsey Hussle by @johnlegend @djkhaled @YG & @MarshaAmbrosius #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/HdgwRCG8u3
— Microsoft Theater (@MSTheater) June 24, 2019
Original Story (June 13, 2019): Before passing, Nipsey Hussle played a huge role in both his community and the culture. To honor his efforts, the 2019 BET Awards will be awarding him with a posthumous Humanitarian Award at this year’s ceremony.
“As a prolific artist and leader, Nipsey Hussle was zealous about driving change for the betterment of his community, empowering and employing those in need and being an influential and highly respected leader,” said BET’s Executive Vice-President, Head of Programming, Connie Orlando. “His passing was a tremendous loss to the entertainment industry and to the culture. We will continue to remember his advocacy and be inspired by the groundwork he set forth and his dire commitment to social change.” She continued, “We are forever grateful, humbled and honored to have experienced his presence and we are invested in doing our part to ensure that the marathon will indeed continue. It is an immense honor for us to recognize him with this year’s Humanitarian Award.”
Through his numerous businesses, Hussle provided opportunities for both the underserved and underrepresented by employing those who were previously incarcerated to help give them a second chance.
Along with the award, a Nipsey tribute performance by YG, John Legend and DJ Khaled will also be part of the programming. The 2019 BET Awards airs live 8 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 23.
Late last month, DJ Khaled shared the visuals to “Higher” which features Nipsey Hussle in one of his last projects.
