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Rapsody, Lil Kim, MC Lyte, and Monie Love paid lyrical tribute to Queen Latifah at the 2021 BET Awards as she won a Lifetime Achievement Award, performing Queen Latifah’s culture-defining hits “Ladies First” and “U.N.I.T.Y.” Rapsody and Monie Love opened things up with “Ladies First,” rocking gender challenging looks inspired by athletics, then Lil Kim and MC Lyte rapped “U.N.I.T.Y.,” with Kim ironically being the one to yell the iconic line, “Who you callin’ a bitch!?” The quartet’s tribute was followed by an acceptance speech from the pioneering Queen herself, who shouted out her partner, and wish fans a happy Pride Month.
Shoutout to Queen let’s go loved one @rapsody #betawards pic.twitter.com/cnPp0bjett
— B.B. Gambini (@laeitdownscoot) June 28, 2021
Yaaaasss Lil Kim & Mc Lyte doing this UNITY tribute to Queen Latifah! #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/Ndwrnyv3v8
— ☥ Ѵ SHΛKTĨ ☥ (@RighteousRoar) June 28, 2021
It’s so good to see Queen Latifah getting her flowers. #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/BHbBzWotLb
— Brennan DuBose (@BrennanDuBose) June 28, 2021
Rapsody, who’s been a fixture of BET’s award shows over the years, last performed on the network in 2020, at the BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher, spitting socially conscious bars alongisde Chika, Jack Harlow, Polo G, and Rhythm + Flow finalist Flawless Real Talk. Throughout 2020, Rapsody made impressive appearances on a number of other artists’ projects, including Public Enemy’s What Are You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?, Reason’s New Beginnings, and T.I.’s The L.I.B.R.A., as well as Stevie Wonder’s social commentary, “Can’t Put It In The Hands Of Fate.” Meanwhile, she also made her own social commentary on the song “12 Problems,” ensuring she stayed in the conversation, even without having a new album out.
Watch the 2021 BET Awards tribute to Queen Latifah above.
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