Rick Ross, Trick Daddy, & Trina Honor Uncle Luke at BET Hip-Hop Awards
It was a hometown hero’s welcome for Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, the influential figure behind 2 Live Crew, at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, which were held in his home state of Florida.
Honored with the show’s prestigious “I Am Hip-Hop” award, Uncle Luke celebrated a lengthy career, both as a solo artist and as the leader of the “Hoochie Mama” hitmakers during the pre-taped show, which aired Tuesday (Oct. 10).
Stars honored Luke with performances, including Trick Daddy, who performed their 1996 collaboration “Scarred” in his honor. The hometown love continued with Rick Ross, who performed a portion of “Pop That,” the French Montana, Drake, and Lil Wayne-assisted single that was inspired by Luke’s “I Wanna Rock (Doo Doo Brown)” from 1992.
Before the performances — which included sets from Trina and Flo Rida, as well as dance moves from Keyshia Ka’oir and Cardi B — Pitbull, Master P, Ice Cube and Atlanta Falcons’ Devonta Freeman also celebrated the veteran MC, who once fought the Supreme Court in a case about the First Amendment.
“He’s the original Miami bass, which turned into crunk music and party music. He put the south on the map,” explained Master P. “…He fought against the government / He fought against the police / That was the game changer.”
During his speech, Luke talked about his past, being disrespected, and being neglected for being from Florida. “Nobody never honored me for shit,” he said. “We got kicked off stage because they said we did booty music, said we weren’t hip-hop.”
Later, he explained how he views his legacy. “I started hip-hop in the south,” he said, explaining the fight that he endured for respect. “I stood there and I said, I’ma start hip-hop in the south and this shit gonna be the hottest thing in the world.”
After his speech, Uncle Luke spoke out about misunderstandings on Instagram. “My teleprompter went out…So I shot from the hip, and you know when I shoot from the hip, some things come out and people interpret some things where they misinterpret,” he said. “Some people might have misinterpreted that I said something bad about Funkmaster Flex and Red Alert. No. Those are my guys. What you should have heard is Funkmaster Flex broke my music in fucking New York. You should have heard Red Alert is my friend for life, who gave me the name Uncle Luke along with Greg Street. I love those guys, okay?”