Kanye West put an end to his hiatus with a surprise appearance at Sunday’s 2022 BET Awards, presenting Sean “Diddy” Combs with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The “Stronger” rapper, 45, stunned the audience when he walked on stage, his face completely covered by a hat, sunglasses and a mask.
After calling the Bad Boy Records creator, 52, a “king,” West described going to Diddy for “advice” over the years.
“He inspires so many of my choices, so many of my life choices. My wife[‘s] choices,” the fashion designer said, notably still calling Kim Kardashian his spouse despite being declared legally single in March amid their divorce. “Thanks for that, Puff.”
West went on to address his “little hiatus,” saying, “I said, ‘I just want to declare myself legally dead for a year. I just want to be off the grid.’ Puff is pretty persistent, but I had to think, bro, it’s like, people get amnesia.
“Like, I should never have Puff have to ever call more than one time,” he added. “Any of us in this room, if Puff ever need us, we need to jump and be there. This man has been through [and] survived a lot of stuff and broke down a lot of doors so we can be standing. … He broke down so many doors of classism, taste, swag.”
West referred to Diddy as his “brother” before the duo hugged.
The speech marked the Yeezy founder’s first awards show appearance since he was banned from performing at the Grammys in April.
West, who was nominated for five Grammys, did not attend the show after he was prohibited from taking the stage due to “concerning online behavior.”
The decision came on the heels of the “Gold Digger” rapper calling Trevor Noah a racial slur in a since-deleted Instagram post.
West’s account was subsequently suspended from the platform for 24 hours due to violating policies on hate speech, bullying and harassment.
Ye’s beef with the “Daily Show” host, 38, began when Noah accused him of “harassing” Kardashian, 41, online.
“What we’re seeing is one of the most powerful, one of the richest women in the world, unable to get her ex to stop texting her, to stop chasing after her, to stop harassing her,” Noah said on his show in March, referencing West’s repeated negative comments about the “Kardashians” star and her boyfriend, Pete Davidson.
However, when West’s Grammys performance was axed the following month, Noah tweeted, “I said counsel Kanye not cancel Kanye.”