The rapper is hosting this year's awards show airing Oct 4.
Fat Joe is ready to get the audience moving and shaking during this year's BET Hip Hop Awards. The 52-year-old rapper is hosting the 2022 awards show, and told ET that he's ready for viewers to "catch the hip hop holy spirit!"
"We're gonna send them positive vibes out there and we’re gonna represent hip hop the culture as one and we’re gonna be unapologetic," the rapper told ET's Kevin Frazier as he taped the show from the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, ahead of the awards show's airing. "We're gonna have fun, we're gonna wear our purple hair, our red hair, our yellow hair and we're gonna have the best time in the world."
It's a lot to expect from one night, but for hip hop's biggest night, it's possible!
This year's awards show boasts a heavy-hitting list of nominees, which includes Drake, who leads the pack with an impressive 14 nominations, including Best Live Performer, Lyricist of the Year, Hip Hop Album of the Year, Hip Hop Artist of the Year and Song of the Year. Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Future, Baby Keem, Cardi B and J. Cole also top the list of nominees, with six or more nods each.
Fat Joe likened his hosting gig to "a little kid in a candy store," saying he was honored to "represent hip hop to the fullest" and usher in a night with such a variety of talented artists attending and performing. "The range is so crazy and I’m just honored to host because I know the artists," he shared. "I don’t think they’ve been announced yet and I’m like, damn, the time I host I get to have all this great talent performing. I mean, it's incredible what’s about to go down -- these performances are crazy."
The host teased the show's tribute performance to the legacy of Loud Records and its founder, Steve Rifkind, which will feature Lil’ Kim, Wu-Tang Clan and Fat Joe himself, along with several others.
"I was at the rehearsal yesterday, I couldn’t believe it!" Fat Joe gushed. "Just seeing all this greatness around me."
The rapper also hinted at surprises planned for the show's airing, providing the sole clue that "the ladies are gonna be well represented."
But one thing Fat Joe isn't teasing anyone about is how passionate he is about ensuring hip hop's biggest night is a show worth waiting for.
"Let me tell you something, if I gotta collapse on that stage I'm willing to do it," the rapper declared. "This is my time, I've been blessed to do this [and] I'm [going to] have the hip hop holy spirit and we gonna go for it. And when you see it, you're gonna be entertained, you're gonna have the time of your life and... you're gonna feel that energy. You're gonna be like 'this guy loves what he's doing, he's having a great time.'"
The BET Hip Hop Awards will air Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on BET.
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