Kanye West has emerged from his "hiatus."
During the 2022 BET Awards on June 26, the "Jesus Walks" rapper hit the stage (and made his first public appearance in months) to present Diddy with the Lifetime Achievement Award. As Kanye—who sported a sheer stocking cap, sunglasses, and a baseball cap—put it, although he's been "off the grid," he made the special appearance to pay tribute to his "brother."
In fact, during his speech, Kanye explained just how influential Diddy has been to him—in which he also seemingly referenced his marriage and subsequent split from Kim Kardashian. "I go to him for advice to this day," Kanye told the crowd. "He inspires so many of my choices. So many of my life choices. My wife choices. And here we are, thanks for that Puff."
(ICYMI, Kim—who shares North, Saint, Psalm and Chicago—with Kanye, filed for divorce in 2021 after six years of marriage).
After his reference, Kanye explained that he made his surprise pop-in because he couldn't pass up the opportunity to honor Diddy and his impressive career. (This marks Kanye's first awards show appearance since he was barred from performing at the Grammys this year).
"You know I took a little hiatus," he said. "I said, ‘I want to just, like, declare myself legally dead for a year. Nobody, nobody message me. You know, I just want to be off the grid. And you know, Puff is pretty persistent."
He continued, "Any of us in this room, if Puff ever needs 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 could be standing. I know for me—that I could be here today. He broke down so many doors of classism. Taste, culture, swag. Puff if I never told you, I love you. You my brother."