Dr. Dre, Lil Wayne, Missy Elliott, and Sylvia Rhone were honored at the second annual Black Music Collective Ceremony yesterday (FEb. 2). Though only in its second year, the event is one of Grammy weekend's most prestigious.
Each icon was awarded the Global Impact Award, and the recipients gave emotional speeches that paid homage to Hip-Hop heroes who paved the way to success for them. The evening also featured performances from their friends and collaborators, including Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Ciara, 2 Chainz, Chloe Bailey, Tweet, Tyga, Korupt, and Ty Dolla $ign.
During Dr. Dre's speech, he particularly mentioned “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel,” which he says was his introduction to Hip-Hop.
“My musical journey started with me wanting to find something that I can be good at, simply so I can earn enough money to buy a decent pair of shoes,” he said. “The birth of hip hop completely changed the course of my life. I heard mixing and scratching and couldn’t get enough of that sound. Once I got my hands on the turntables, I knew I found my wings, and I was determined to learn how to fly. It didn’t stop for me with scratching and mixing. I fell in love with the idea of manipulating sound, taking those different sounds and putting them together like a puzzle to make a song.”
Missy, who's been showered with awards over the past year, including having a street named after her and most recently becoming the first female Hip-Hop artist nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, celebrated the women who came before her, as she regularly does. “This doesn’t get old to me," she tearfully said, per Rolling Stone. "I’ve won a lot of awards and feel the same way. It hits different when you stand up here. We’ve been through a lot. I know Dre, Wayne, none of us rolled over into success.”
Missy also thanked Rhone: "She never told me ‘you need to lose weight,’ she never told me to change my records.” She also acknowledged women rap artists like Yo-Yo and MC Lyte as “the reason that I stand here.”
Chloe Bailey celebrated Missy with a rendition of Aaliyah’s “One in A Million,” which Elliot co-wrote. Tweet, who Missy was instrumental in introducing to the music world, performed their collaboration “Oops (Oh My),” while Ciara sang “1, 2 Step" which Missy co-wrote.
As for Wayne, he was honored by 2 Chainz with their collab "Duffle Bag Boy" (which featured 2 Chainz's previous group Playaz Circle). “I don’t get honored where I’m from,” Wayne said. “Where I’m from, In New Orleans, you’re not supposed to do this. We don’t get honored. I don’t know all of y’all tonight. Thank you. I ain’t shit without you.”
Meanwhile, Busta Rhymes honored Rhone during her tribute. “She put her job on the line to make sure we could be trailblazers,” he said. “Every dream I had, I could wake up, come into the office, and Sylvia went balls to the wall to make our dreams come true.”
