DMX was honored at tonight’s BET Awards with a star-studded performance curated by his close friend Swizz Beatz and featuring Busta Rhymes, Method Man, Jadakiss, The Lox, the rap collective Griselda, and actor Michael K. Williams.
The performance kicked off with Method Man performing “Get At Me Dog” a cappella before giving way to Griselda to spit their posthumous collaboration “Hood Blues”. Williams, channeling DMX to a T, then took the stage and recited the lyrics to “Slippin’”. To close the set, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, The Lox, and Ruff Ryders performed a medley of “The Hood At?”, “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem”, and “Party Up”. Watch the replay below.
Speaking to Complex ahead of the awards show, Beatz opened up about approaching the tribute to his fellow artist in a “nonconventional way,” saying, “You see a lot of tributes and you can almost predict [what’s going to happen]. This time we wanted to do something a little different. We wanted to add some curation and different types of artistry. Everybody that’s coming on stage… had a serious respect for them.”
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Last month, DMX’s posthumous album Exodus was released, featuring guest appearances by a roster of A-list talent including JAY-Z, Moneybagg Yo, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys, Usher, and more. Meanwhile, the New York State Senate officially commemorated the rapper’s birthday, December 18th, as Earl “DMX” Simmons Day two weeks after his death.
RIP TO THE REALEST! Rest easy X! 🙏🏾🙏🏾 #BETAwards #CulturesBiggestNight pic.twitter.com/sp7heDdH0L
— BET (@BET) June 28, 2021
Method Man links with Griselda to honor DMX 🙅🏾 #BETAwards @methodman @BennyBsf @WESTSIDEGUNN @WHOISCONWAY pic.twitter.com/V0MlLl0kLl
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) June 28, 2021
Having Michael K. Williams was an excellent choice. #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/ofvg1SoXpv
— sydmosley (@sydmosley) June 28, 2021
Ruff Ryders! Swizz Beats, The Lox and Busta Rhymes pay homage to DMX #BETAwards21 LONG LIVE THE X #RIPDMX pic.twitter.com/zvtQo1bihG
— Nina Nicole Kapowski (@NinaNicoleShow) June 28, 2021