Dear Gossips, 

Ladies First!

The first lady of hip-hop, Queen Latifah, was presented the Lifetime Achievement at the BET Awards last night with MC Lyte, Lil’ Kim, Monie Love, and Rhapsody taking the stage in tribute while Latifah looked on and grooved to their performance. 

 

She was honoured and she was proud, beaming at the Black excellence before her on a night that was meant to celebrate Black women. And it was just Queen Latifah – the whole venue was into it, from Lena Waithe and Cynthia Erivo to Issa Rae and more, singing and dancing along to Latifah’s classic signature jams, it was several minutes of pure joy because, really, who isn’t down to celebrate Queen Latifah. 

 

Latifah brought her father, Lancelot, up on stage with her to accept the award, and held onto a portrait of her late mother, Rita. She talked about how her parents raised her to celebrate Blackness and Black women: 

“Black is beautiful. I was raised by strong Black women. We can't live without each other.”

Indeed, from the time when she first rapped U-N-I-T-Y, Latifah has always been a collaborative artist, it’s reflected in her music and also in her acting. 

 

As you heard, Queen Latifah ended her speech with “Happy Pride!” So on that note, let’s delight in the stylings of Lil Nas X who wore multiple outfits throughout the night, including a spectacular gown, and then performed “Montero” during the broadcast, and ended the performance with his own “Happy Pride!”. 

Since he came out, Lil Nas X has shown time and again that he’s no longer interested in not being who he is and making sure that in representing himself, he’s also giving an opportunity for others to be seen too. 

Yours in gossip,

Lainey