Kanye West made a surprise appearance at the BET Awards on Monday to honour his friend and “brother”, P. Diddy.
As Pitchfork reports, Kanye appeared at the awards in a mask covering his face, sharing a speech in tribute of Diddy’s Diddy’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Recalling his early years as a music fan and producer, Kanye reflected on how he would look toward Diddy for guidance, even recognising a need to meet him in order to kickstart his own career.
“This is my favourite artist — you see what I’m saying?” Kanye stated. “Back then, it was so many rules to hip-hop, and he broke all of them.
“I go to him for advice to this day. He inspires so many of my life choices, my wife choices,” Kanye added with a laugh.
As he continues, the endearingly-heartfelt Kanye explains how he’s recently taken a little bit of time off, with a desire to “declare myself legally dead for a year”, yet it was the persistence of Diddy that saw him play a role in the likes of the BET Awards. “Any of us in the room, if Puff ever need us, we need to jump and be there,” Kanye added.
“This man has been through and survived a lot of stuff,” he concluded. “Broke down a lot of doors so we could be standing. I know for me, that I could be here today. He broke down so many doors of classism, taste, culture, swag. Puff, if I never told you, I love you. You’re my brother.”
As Pitchfork notes, this was Kanye’s first public appearance since he pulled out of a planned headline appearance at Coachella earlier this year. His tribute to P. Diddy also came alongside others from the likes of Jay-Z, Mary K. Blige, Nas, Faith Evans, and more.
