Audiences didn’t know what to make of him when he first began, so he decided he’d become a legend. Fans witnessed a historic chapter as Hip-hop honored Snoop Dogg with the prestigious “I Am Hip Hop” award, Saturday night at the 2016 BET Hip-hop awards.
Fans worldwide will remember as rapper Kendrick Lamar made a surprise entrance as he walked on stage catering to jam-packed Cobb Energy Performance Centre. As the crowd subsided, Lamar then paid tribute to “the ultra-smooth West Coast rapper [who] ‘paved away into many hearts’ with his authentic rap flow and infectious persona”:
“He mastered the game through tests and challenges that earned him the respect of a college professor, except his game came from the streets,” Lamar said Lamar to a silenced Atlanta crowd and millions nationwide, “He put [me] on game, so I would avoid the same pitfalls… Snoop Dogg was the God, and continues to be so”.
And just when it seemed the night’s memorable ambience couldn’t take a deeper dive, Snoop Dogg walked on stage, crowds roaring and applauding, as Lamar handed him the award.
In his acceptance speech, Snoop emphasized on vitalizing modern artists to persist in “pushing the envelope” and to keep pursuing originality. It almost seemed as if Uncle Snoop were talking to a thousand younger versions of himself:
“To all the young rappers in the game, a lot of people don’t understand you. Y’all are misunderstood. I was misunderstood at the beginning. So you got to keep pushing, be original and diverse. Hip-hop was created many years ago and it’s taken people so many places. You have to be who you are”.
Atlanta erupted with one more tumultuous applause, paying their homage to the Doggfather as he walked off the stage and (metaphorically) into the ranks among the Hip-hop hall of fame.
By Jods Arboleda for RAPStation.com
