The 2023 MTV VMAs took place last night at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Wednesday (September 12) and the live show was the grand spectacle most hoped for. While not everything went smoothly as expected during a live event, Hip-Hop Wired takes a look at the biggest and Blackest moments of the 2023 MTV VMAs.
The VMAs, short for MTV Video Music Awards, is now in its 39th year. Given that this year the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop is being widely celebrated, many fixtures of the culture had their big moment during the awards ceremony.
Opening the show was Lil Wayne, who came out to a portion of Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up” before launching into a two-song medley of “Uproar” with live drums behind him, and a new track “Kat Food,” both appearing to be crowdpleasers. On social media and via the MTV cameras, celebrities and attendees alike were off their feet.
While Weezy F. Baby had the crowd in the palm of his hand, the screams from the crowd for Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion were so loud that they bled into the performance of Bardi’s new single, “Bongos,” and there were indeed bongo players to complete the stage look.
Doja Cat ran through a medley of “Attention,” “Paint The Town Red,” and her latest single, “Demons” and if the reaction from social media is any indication, it may have been the performance of the night.
Diddy, who won the Global Icon VMA last night, also performed a medley of familiar Bad Boy hits with assistance from Yung Miami, Keyshia Cole, and Diddy’s son, King Combs. Diddy’s energy was infectious and had the entire venue rocking.
Metro Boomin looked through his stacked Rolodex for his medley performance of “Superhero” and “Calling” with Future, Swae Lee, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and NAV on the assist for a vibed-out affair.
Nicki Minaj, who stepped away from emceeing the event to deliver a quick two-song performance got the crowd going with a rendition of “Last Time I Saw You” and an unnamed track from her upcoming Pink Friday 2 project.
Last but certainly not least, Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary couldn’t be ignored and an epic 10-minute performance still barely scratched the surface but Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, Nicki Minaj, Lil Watyyne LL COOL J, and Daryl “D.M.C.” Daniels all turned in a performance that was arguably the best of the night.
The 2023 MTV VMAs was a spectacular night for the culture and impressive as it was all live so mistakes couldn’t be avoided but the professionalism and passion were still a sight to see. Keep scrolling to see the aforementioned moments we wrote about above.
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Photo: MTV/Getty
