Lil Wayne, Missy Elliott and Dr. Dre honored by Black Music Collective – The Hollywood Reporter

Vulnerable Lil Wayne and tearful Missy Elliott received the Black Music Academy’s Dr. Dre Global Impact Award – the award was renamed Thursday night because they also honor Dr. Dr.

Lil Wayne, who signed a recording contract at the age of 12 and turned 40 in September, captivated the audience with a heartfelt and moving speech at the end of the night.

“I want you all to know that I am not being honored,” he said at the Hollywood Palladium as singers, rappers, producers, musicians, label executives and other players in the antiques industry. dance him. “Where I’m from, New Orleans, you’re not allowed to do this.”

“I walked into my mother’s room when I was 14 years old. She asked me for a child because my father was killed. And her son just blew up and went on his first trip. When I got home, she said, ‘Son, I can’t live in this house alone. We’re going to have to figure something out,'” Lil Wayne recalls.

“I want to thank Antonia Johnson,” he continued, referring to the mother of his first child, “for reasoning with me and my mother and my life. I want to thank each of my children and each of their mothers.”

Lil Wayne has won five Grammy Awards, earned more than 150 RIAA certifications, and is one of the most sought-after collaborators in music, completing over 700 guest appearances. He is also the initiator of the careers of Drake and Nicki Minaj.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t know who you all are tonight. Again, we are not honored,” he said. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I wouldn’t die without you.

DJ Khaled introduces Lil Wayne, saying, “I grew up listening to you and I’m bigger than you.” In video messages, Drake and Deion Sanders paid tribute to the rap vet, while 2 Chainz, Swizz Beatz and Tyga performed Lil Wayne hits to close out the event.

“Good evening, Grammys. Well, I haven’t said that since 2016,” said Drake, who in recent years has refused to submit his music to the awards ceremony.

“Lil Wayne… I love you so much,” he continued. “I know it can be irritating to say how much you mean to me and my family, but I think I speak on behalf of everyone that our career, our rhythm , our tunes, maybe the tattoos on our faces or our outfits or decisions in general wouldn’t be the same without the innate gift to be who we are.”

Elliott also captivated the audience with an emotional speech. She stopped several times, trying to hold back her tears as the crowd cheered for her.

“I’ve won so many awards, and I feel the same way — anyone who knows me knows I cry all the time,” said Elliott, inductee inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and recipient of the MTV Video Vanguard Award said at the award ceremony. MTV VMAs in 2019 and recently became the first female rapper to receive a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — receiving the nod the first year she qualified.

Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone, who has been a top music executive since the beginning of her career in the ’70s and is a champion of hip-hop, also received the Award. Dr. Dre’s Global Impact, originally known as the Recording Academy’s Global Impact Award. Elliott thanks Rhone for helping her start her business.

“I was in a girl group and Sylvia Rhone dumped me and then signed me up as a solo artist,” she said. “She saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. … She never told us no. She never said to me, ‘You need to lose weight.’ She never said to me, ‘You need to change your profile.’”

R&B singer Chloe switched the channel to Aaliyah and performed “One In a Million” – written and produced by Elliott with Timbaland – while singing Elliott’s “One Minute Man” in honor of the performer of the genre. Elliott’s backer, Tweet, performed their 2002 hit “Oops (Oh My)” while Ciara sang and danced to her collaboration songs with Elliott, “Lose Control” and “1, 2 Step” won a Grammy Award. Busta Rhymes also dominated the night as he honored Rhone with a stage performance.

But the liveliest performances of the night were by Snoop Dogg, Kurupt and Ty Dolla $ign, all honoring Dr. Dre. The trio performed “Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None),” produced by Dre.

Dr Dre said: “My musical journey started with me wanting to find something I could be good at, simply so I could earn enough to buy a decent pair of shoes that I could wear to school. . “I first heard hip-hop when I was in middle school. I hear the mixing and scratching, and I can’t hear enough of it. And when I got my hands on the turntable, I knew I had found my wings and I was determined to learn how to fly.”

Dre, who has created his own hits as well as successful Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, continues: “I love the idea of ​​controlling the sounds and taking those different sounds and putting them together with together like a jigsaw puzzle to form a song. , Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Gwen Stefani, etc. “I studied engineering for years and years, and from there I realized that I could take or listen to a piece of audio and use it. Use that sound to create something completely new. And then boom – I became a producer.”