Kanye West, who now goes by “Ye”, had kept a low profile in recent months after he was banned from performing at the Grammy Awards, despite his five nominations, for “concerning online behaviour”.
Now, the musician and Kim Kardashian’s ex made a bizarre appearance at the BET Awards 2022, which are broadcast from Los Angeles, and presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to his friend Sean Diddy Combs with Kenneth Babyface Edmonds.
Wearing a completely covered face, black mask, hat and sunglasses, West gave his speech to thank the artist for his advice and, as almost always in his public appearances, he could not omit the mother of his children, Kim Kardashian.
After playing a vocal note from Kim Porter, his late ex who died unexpectedly of pneumonia in 2018, Diddy performed “I’ll Be Missing You” with Faith Evans and Maverick City Choir.
“I want to donate $1 million to Howard University and another $1 million to Deon Sanders and Jackson State because we should play for us,” Diddy explained during his acceptance speech. “Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”
After the controversial release of his surprise album ‘Donda’, his Super Bowl appearance, Instagram suspending Kanye West’s account and the Grammys banning him from performing for “concerning online behaviour” he hasn’t been seen much in public. Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s divorce continues to shape his career and public appearances, including yet another mention of his ex-wife in his BETs speech. The rapper admitted he wanted to “declare himself legally dead for a year…But Puff is pretty persistent”.
Lucía Domínguez