Nelly Accepts “I Am Hip-Hop” Award At 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards

St. Louis rap veteran accepts BET’s I Am Hip Hop Award.

Nelly Wins I Am Hip Hop Award & Performs At BET Hip Hop Awards 2021

Nelly was honored during the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards on Tuesday (Oct. 5), During his acceptance speech for the I Am Hip Hop Award, M.O. thanked LL Cool J. The influence that he put on Nelly was incredible─“So much so that I started jacking a lot of s**t from him," Nelly added with a laugh. "[But] we talked about that. He's forgiven me.”

“I never had a cosign. You know what I'm saying? Nobody stood on stage and put their arm around me. Nobody gave me a feature. Nobody put a chain around my neck. I got thrown in the deep end and was told to swim," he said of his early career while accepting the award. "We hear today and I always want to thank bet for allowing Nelly the honor and pleasure of being visual on their platform, all the way from, you know, day one.”

After being awarded the I Am Hip Hop Award by Jermaine Dupri at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards, Nelly closed out the show with some memorable classics.