Exclusive: Artists Celebrate Lil Wayne, Missy Elliot and Dr. Dre at Black Music Collective Pre-Grammy Event

Ahead of the Grammys, the Recording Academy held its annual Black Music Collective event at the Hollywood Palladium, celebrating Lil Wayne, Missy Elliot, Dr. Dre, and Sylvia Rhone as the recipients of this year’s Recording Academy Global Impact Award.

On Thursday, DJ Khaled, 2 Chainz, Busta Rhymes, Chloe Bailey, Ciara, and more attended the star-studded event to celebrate the icons for their contribution to music. In an exclusive interview with Baller Alert, Ty Dolla Sign shares the impact Missy Elliot’s had on Hip Hop. “She’s iconic. The background vocals, the writing, what she was saying, and the beats she chose. Everything she does is crazy,” the rapper said.

Black Music Collective Chair and producer Rico Love praised Missy Elliot for her famous fashion statements, specifically her iconic “The Rain: Superduper Fly” music video look. “Everyone tried replicating her patent leather look with garbage bags for Halloween. Anytime you become a Halloween costume, you’re iconic,” Love said.

The “Lose Control” artist continues to influence the culture, taking her creativity to “new levels every five years,” Dolla Sign said. Elliott was recently nominated into the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, becoming the first woman hip artist to do so.

Lil Wayne also received his flowers during the Black Music Collective event. Drake provided a heartfelt video message celebrating the Young Money rapper, while 2 Chainz and Tyga took to the stage to perform a few of his greatest hits.  

Throughout the decades, Wayne has proven to be one of the most influential rappers of all time. We’ve even enjoyed two different versions of Lil Wayne’s music styles – Young Money and Cash Money.

When asked which version of Lil Wayne was the best, Joey Badass voted “Young Money.” “YMCMB Lil Wayne was insane. I even wanted to be signed to Young Money,” he said. However, other artists like Major voted “Cash Money” as Lil Wayne’s most iconic music era. 

During his acceptance speech, the 40-year-old thanked his mother, the mothers of his children, and his kids. He also explained how signing his first deal with Cash money records at age 12 changed the trajectory of his life forever.  

Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, and Ty Dolla $ign broke out an energetic performance of the Dre-produced classic “Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None).” The producer-rapper accepted his award with joy in his eyes and talked about starting his musical journey with the initial thought of making enough money to “buy a decent pair of shoes” to wear to school. He recalled hearing hip-hop for the first time in junior high school and spoke about his knack for collaborating. 

“One of my passions is collaborations,” the seven-time Grammy winner said. “I never in my entire career done anything alone. I don’t even know if I want to be in the studio alone. It sounds boring.” 

Although part of Dre’s Hip Hop story was shown in Straight Outta Compton, a biopic about the legend has yet to be discussed publicly. When asked who could best portray the rapper in a biopic, Joe Badass said, “Jonathan Majors, while Anthony Hamilton hinted at Michael B. Jordan.