Weezy F. Baby started  as a wide-eyed rapping pre-teen, rolling around with Cash Money, and has grown to become, widely considered by many, one of the best rappers in history. With over 120 million records sold worldwide, five Grammys under his belt, and five albums that have gone at least platinum, it’s safe to say that Lil Wayne’s calling himself the “Best Rapper Alive” is confirming that he is one of the greatest of all time.

When the rapper accepted the I Am Hip Hop Award at the 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards, he was joined on stage by his daughter, Reginae, and his mother, dedicating the award to the “people that refuse.” He elaborated on the term, saying it was for the “people who refused to stop supporting me, the people who refused to see me as not putting an album out in six years. You guys respected me, you guys supported me, you came to every show, you respect every album, every feature.”

His emotional speech moved on from his supporters and thanked “Uncle Bob,” a detective who made sure that the rapper was okay, back when he was a teenager, after a life-threatening incident. After showering everyone with praise for refusing to give up on him, Lil Wayne ended the touching note with one last announcement: “I refuse to stop.”

Also known as The Queen Bee, Lil Kim is, without a doubt, one of the most influential women in rap’s history. Her powerful raps and uncompromising style made her feminine anthems of the late 90s and early 2000s transcend their time periods to become unforgettable odes to the confident woman’s experience. Without her, there’d be no Nicki Minaj, no Megan Thee Stallion, no Mulatto, and no contemporary female rap as we know it. She’s a legend in every sense of the word. 

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She took the stage at the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards and immediately went on an extended tour of thanks for her massive family. Afterward, she spoke about her relationship with the Notorious B.I.G. whom she believes still watches over her over two decades after his death.

“I don’t know if any of yall know how it feels to have an angel following you all around all the time, but that’s Biggie,” she said, pointing to the sky. “I’m going to always love him, I’m always going to ride for him, I don’t play about him, that’s just what it is,” she continued. “I love you to the Heavens, Biggie.”

Hip-hop’s deadliest pen belongs to Ice Cube, who cut his teeth with N.W.A. before embarking on a legendary solo trek that brought out hits like “Today Was A Good Day” and “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It.” He’s largely responsible for hip-hop’s integration into the masses, and to say that he’s done anything less than legendary over the course of his career would be a  lie.

He accepted his award with his gruff signature demeanor at the 2009 Hip Hop Awards and used his speech to address the hip hop nation. “We got to do what we feel,” he said. “We can’t be slaves to video programmers, we can’t be slaves to radio programmers, A&R’s, we got to be slaves to our own creative minds. To all the old people in the house, keep doing your music. Don’t let the industry push you out. Keep doing what you feel. As long as you have a tongue, you’re not too old to rap.”

Legendary rapper MC Lyte is one of the pioneers of rap for women, creating poignant, conscious songs that have withstood the test of time. She set the tone in 1988, at 17, with her debut release, “I Cram To Understand U (Sam) about the impact of drug addiction on relationships and built upon her pensive, thoughtful focus throughouther career. MC Lyte receiving the I Am Hip Hop Award at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards was a perfect move to further cement her Grammy-nominated legacy as nothing short of illustrious. 

Equally legendary was her acceptance speech which was about more than just thanking her family, friends, and supporters, but also about giving some advice to men and women everywhere.

“Men, we are depending on you,” she said. “We need you to protect us when no one will. So stop cursing us out all the time, okay? Find some love for us somewhere, God bless.” She ended her statement with a demand for women listening to her speech. “And ladies, if you want to be treated like a queen, act like one.”

On a serious note, who’s done it bigger than Uncle Snoop? The Doggfather has sold more than 35 million albums worldwide  since his debut album, Doggystyle, dropped in 1993. Everyone knows his whispering snarl found on hip-hop classics like “Gin & Juice” and Dr. Dre’s “Nuthin But A G Thang,” and he’s appeared in movies, comedy roasts, and several TV shows as a host, co-host, and a kid’s football coach.

In the spirit of invention and reinvention that have both been quintessential to hip hop, he’s also explored several genres like reggae and gospel on his quest to continue to be the groundbreaking artist  he was when he came into the game. Snoop is more I Am Hip Hop than, perhaps, anyone. 

When he received the award in 2016, in his heartfelt speech, he devoted time to thanking his peers for giving him the respect that he initially didn’t strive for and also addressed the next generation of rappers and their creativity. 

“A lot of people don’t understand you all, and you’re misunderstood,” he said. “They didn’t understand me in the beginning,either. So you have to keep pushing, stay who you are, and be diverse. Hip-hop was created many years ago, and it’s grown and taken people so many places. And you have to understand, as a young emcee, as a young artist, that you always have to be who you are because at, the end of the day, you have to live with who you are.”

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“I don’t pretend, I love who I’ve been my whole journey,” he continued. “I ain’t ever been nobody but me, and I will continue to be me. And I say that to all of the young emcees that’s pushing they push right now, because I’m loving where hip-hop is going. I’m loving how yall are taking it across the world and are uniting people. People don’t understand that music is the universal language of all people. This is the way for us to come together.”

The 2020 Hip Hop Awards will air on BET October 21 at 8/9c.