The BET Hip Hop Awards was pulled off with a bang, and a few bruises.
The show was filmed at the Atlanta Civic Center and it brought several hip-hop heavyweights to the A. According to a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, rapper and father-to-be Wiz Khalifa opened the show with Young Jeezy. Other performers included Pusha T, Kanye West, Big Sean and 2 Chainz, also known as G.O.O.D. Music, who performed their hit Mercy. Atlanta native 2 Chainz went solo a second time performing his hit “Birthday Song” complete with a gospel choir. Fellow Atlantans B.o.b. and T.I. also performed at the show. The hip-hop cyphers, one of the show’s traditions, also returned this year. The cypher included verses from a variety of rappers including Snoop Dogg, Childish Gambino, Eve, ASAP Rocky, RZA and DMX.
Other performers included Future, Diddy and a shirtless Rick Ross who performed “Hold Me Back” with former heart throb Omarion and was draped James Brown-style with a fur coat at the end of his set. Although Ross claims he cannot be held back by his haters, he managed to get into a scuffle during the awards show. According to various reports, Rozay and Young Jeezy got into a conflict backstage that managed to end up in the parking lot of the venue. Veteran rapper Funkmaster Flex had a front row seat to the drama and tweeted about it. “Jeezy and Rick Ross just had words backstage!! Pushing and shoving!!” he tweeted. “Beef just spread to the parking lot!”
Rapper Machine Gun Kelly was a witness too but unfortunately got caught in the crossfire. “Got mase in my eyes. That beef sh– just got real,” he posted on his Twitter page. Ross’ protégé, Gunplay, was also involved in a scuffle but with G-Unit, 50 Cent’s crew.
There were reports that gunshots were fired and there was an arrest but the Atlanta Police Department rebuffed those rumors. “Shortly after 7:15 pm Saturday, a fight broke out in the parking lot at the Atlanta Civic Center (where the awards were being taped) between two groups,” said a spokesman for the APD. “Officers on scene responded to break up the fight and used OC spray [commonly known as pepper spray] in the process. Individuals fled the scene. There were no arrests or reports of serious injuries. Reports of shots fired appear to be untrue.”
