Mary J. Blige Receives Lifetime Achievement Award From Rihanna At BET Awards

Jun 25, 2019 by apost team

The living legend herself, Mary J. Blige, received a Lifetime Achievement Award at yesterday’s BET Awards from the next generation of legends: Rihanna. Blige has been at the forefront of hip-hop and R&B for decades and it was a well-deserved prize for her achievements.

Rihanna took to the stage to introduce Blige and list off her many accomplishments. She noted Blige’s signature style of baggy jerseys and thigh high boots and reminded the crowd that she was the first person ever to be nominated in an acting and music category at the Oscars in the same year.

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Rihanna’s speech also had another theme of gratitude for the 48-year-old pioneer. She thanked Blige for paving the way in the record industry for artists such as herself:

"Mary J. Blige, you have set the bar for relatable, timeless, classic music. You opened multiple doors for female artists in this industry.” Rihanna said in her speech, “On behalf of all the women that came after you, like myself, thank you for being you so we could feel comfortable being ourselves."

She also rightly said thank you for giving us a song for every feeling, then crowned her the Queen of hip-hop and R&B before Blige took the stage.

In her acceptance speech, Blige thanked Rihanna before basically gave herself her own tribute referring to herself as “a leader, a queen, and living legend” to cheers from the crowd. She also thanked her family and people who supported her during her “lifetime of achievements” including Puff Daddy aka Diddy who was in the audience. In the end, there was just one more big thank you she wanted to send:

“I'm a servant as well and I'm here to serve. Being a servant is not always glamorous or popular, but it's the job and the assignment that I was given,” she said in her speech, “Because in order to become an authority, I had to come under authority. It's because, when the glory is placed on me, I give it back to God."

She launched into a performance that was tinged with nostalgia as well as updated for the audience. The crowd was up on their feet singing along to every word to songs such as “My Life” and “Real Love.”

Two surprise juggernaut cameos of Lil’ Kim and Method Man also rounded out the performance. Naturally, Blige was dressed in her signature sporty look for the entire set, wearing a backward baseball hat and bedazzled baseball jersey.

Did you watch the moment when Mary J. Blige blew the audience away? Make sure the Rihanna or Mary J. Blige fans you know see this article.