Tyler, The Creator Thanks Q-Tip, André 3000, Pharrell, Missy Elliott & More During BET Speech
Tyler, the Creator shouted out his influences while accepting the Cultural Influence Award at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards.
Tyler, the Creator was the recipient of the inaugural Rock the Bells Cultural Influence Award at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards. Upon receiving the award from presenter LL COOL J, Tyler went into a speech where he also thanked those in hip-hop who’ve influenced him greatly.
One more time for @tylerthecreator Congratulations to the goat ? on being this year’s Rock The Bells Cultural Influence Award Honoree! #HipHopAwards pic.twitter.com/ESNykvyOG6
— BET (@BET) October 6, 2021
“I wouldn’t be here or up on the stage or have this silly hat or anything without the Q-Tips, the André 3000s, the Chad Hugos, the Pharrells, the Kanye Wests, the Missy Elliotts, who no one ever brings up,” he said. “Busta Rhymes, the Hype Williams who just took it to this different world. I preach those names and others that I didn’t name ’cause I’m limited on time.”
“But I appreciate you so much for just opening the doors and throwing the key — not just opening the doors, but talking to young guys like me and giving me gems and things like that. Even LL, the speech he gave me back there was just beautiful,” the artist continued.
Tyler also received the award for Hip Hop Album of the Year, with Call Me If You Get Lost beating out J. Cole’s The Off-Season, DJ Khaled’s Khaled Khaled, Megan Thee Stallion’s Good News and others. The artist will be going on tour for the album next year with support from Vince Staples, Kali Uchis, and Teezo Touchdown. Call Me If You Get Lost marked Tyler’s highest-grossing opening week of sales (with 169,000 equivalent units sold), and his second straight No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart.