Roc Nation artist Rapsody could not hide her joy (and her surprise) when she was awarded the Lyricist of the Year award at the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards on Tuesday night.
“I know you thought you were here to introduce your cypher, but in actuality, T.I. has given a fine set up for the Lyricist of the Year and I do believe, you are one of them,” comedians DC Young Fly, Karlous Miller and Chico Bean of 85 South Show told the shocked emcee.
“I won a BET Award!? I thought I came here to do a cypher! YOOOOO!!!” an elated Rapsody responded after T.I. announced her as the winner.
After many years of hard work, Rapsody became emotional over having finally received her flowers.
“This my first award for anything. I ain’t gon’ cry because I’m tough, but I’m gonna tell you I’m happy it’s from BET. ‘Cause it means something that it’s from a Black network. And for Lyricist of the Year, the women don’t always get represented for that. So, I’m grateful,” she told viewers.
“Thank God. Jamla Records. Roc Nation. To all the women, MCs, spitters that came before me — Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, Lil Kim, MC Lyte, Foxy Brown, Missy Elliott, Jean Grae — we could go on and on. Yo, this is crazy.”
In January, Rapsody sat down with Rolling Stone where she spoke on the importance of lyricism:
“I grew up on the fabric of telling stories and not making everything so plain,” she explained. “Having two lines that you can talk about for an hour, the concept of having a metaphor where two lines create this whole dialogue: that’s always the fun part of what I love about hip-hop and lyricism.”
During the virtual ceremony, Rapsody took part in a cypher alongside Polo G, Chika, Jack Harlow and Flawless Real Talk, where they offered a “powerful commentary on the current state of America.”
Watch the cypher below.
