Most of the fun in awards shows is the element of surprise. While award shows across the board have had their fair share of eye-bulging points, we've hand-selected five shocking hip-hop award show moments.
1. Rick James Reminds Everyone Who He Is
Back in 2004, Rick James gave his last performance at the 4th annual BET Awards. The legendary funk singer gave a live rendition of "Fire & Desire" alongside Teena Marie.
As if their side-eye worthy performance wasn't enough, James took everyone by surprise when he took the opportunity to remind the crowd just who he was after presenting an award. He called out a girl backstage who didn't recognize the crooner who churned out hits like "Super Freak" and "Mary Jane," saying, "Never mind who you thought I was, I'm Rick James, b--ch!"
2. Suge Knight Calls Puff Daddy Out
In 1995, Suge Knight took the stage to accept the Source Award for Motion Picture Soundtrack of the Year for Above The Rim. Things started out on a good note with Knight thanking God and the entire Death Row family but somewhere down the line things went left. Snoop Dogg can be heard yelling things from the crowd. The East Coast-West Coast beef was at its boiling point and Knight promptly issued a diss to Puff Daddy and Bad Boy Records.
"And to any artist out there who wanna be a artist and wanna stay a star and won't have to worry about the producer tryna be all in the videos, all on the records, dancing...come to Death Row."
3. Diana Ross Plays With Lil' Kim's Breast
Lil' Kim rocked a highly talked about and revealing jumpsuit to the 1999 MTV VMAs but the eyes and hands that the outfit attracted surprised everyone even more. The jumpsuit dipped below her left breast with only a pastie to cover her areola.
Motown great Diana Ross came out to present Best Hip-Hop Video with Kim and Mary J. Blige but clearly her mind was elsewhere. Ross went straight for Kim's breast and gave it a jiggle, with no warning.
4. Nicki Minaj Disses Iggy Azalea, Experiences Wardrobe Malfunction
Nicki Minaj was crowned the Best Female Hip Hop Artist at the 2014 BET Awards and proceeded to, presumably, throw shade at Iggy Azalea during her acceptance speech. "What I want the world to know about Nicki Minaj is when you hear Nicki Minaj spit, Nicki Minaj wrote it," she said.
Her statement was taken as an allusion to rumors that Azalea uses T.I. as a ghostwriter, which he denied. In what seemed to be award show karma, Minaj experienced a wardrobe malfunction during her performance of "Bang Bang" with Jessie J and Ariana Grande at the MTV VMAs months later.
5. Lil' Mama Crashes Jay Z And Alicia Keys Performance
"Lip Gloss" rapper and former America's Best Dance Crew judge Lil' Mama was overcome by hometown pride when she popped up on stage with Jay Z and Alicia Keys during a performance of "Empire State of Mind" at the 2009 VMAs. Hov and Keys were wrapping their performance when Lil' Mama made an uninvited appearance and posed with the two musicians in closing.
"To Jay in particular, as a Brooklyn native - [which] I am also - in that moment it was nothing but respect and honor," she explained to MTV News. "It was a joyous moment. Whenever we share happiness or a celebration takes place, usually it's graceful, it's never to disrespect. I never meant any harm. I was enjoying myself and I was enjoying his performance. I got love for him."
