Hip Hop showed out at the Webbys last night (May 16) in New York City, with several major artists scoring major awards.
The New York City event was hosted by actor/comedian Nick Offerman and was a mostly light-hearted look at the funniest and most viral moments on the internet from the last year. The awards are voted on by more than 1,000 expert panelists, and there is also a “People’s Voice” winner selected by millions of online votes. This year’s ceremony marked the 20th anniversary of the awards.
Kanye West, who is known to take over news cycles pretty much every time he tweets, nabbed the title for Artist Of The Year. In a write-up on the award’s website, they called him “a leader and innovator in the music industry” and said he “is changing the cultural paradigm of how music is shared, released, presented & consumed.”
Yeezy wasn’t in the building for the ceremony, but sent a five-word speech by video. The super short acceptance speeches are a tradition of the awards, and are often as poignant as they are concise. Kanye’s words of wisdom: “I can’t stand short speeches.”
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Kim Kardashian got a statue to match her husband’s, taking home the inaugural award in the “Break The Internet” category for her online presence and top tier selfie game. In her speech, she vowed to stay consistent, saying “nude selfies ’til I die.”
Accepting the award for Social Movement Of The Year, Black Lives Matter co-founder Opal Tometi reiterated her message in her speech and got a standing ovation from the crowd and Spike Lee, who introduced the category.
The Weeknd’s “In The Night” won Best Music Video for the six-minute mini-movie directed by BRTHR.
The N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton collected a trophy for Best Digital Campaign for the movie’s viral advertising.
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Erykah Badu performed at the ceremony, paying tribute to Prince with a cover of The Purple One’s 1987 song “The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker.”
Watch the full awards here:
And for a full list of the winners, check out the official website.
