Busta Rhymes’ winning streak of honors keeps rolling as he’s set to receive the Hip Hop Icon Award during Harlem Week.
According to Variety, the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce will present Busta with the award on Aug. 17 during Harlem Day, the grand finale of Harlem Week celebrations in New York City. The ceremony will take place at St. Nicholas Park — the same stage where his son, Trillian Wood-Smith, is slated to perform.
This recognition comes right on the heels of the Caribbean Elite Group announcing that Busta will also be honored with the Elite ICon Award at the 2025 Caribbean Music Awards.
Just earlier this month, Busta cemented his legacy even further with the 2,818th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a moment celebrated by fellow hip-hop greats LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, and Chuck D.
LL Cool J and Chuck D set the tone at the ceremony, delivering heartfelt tributes to Busta Rhymes’ legacy in hip-hop.
“When I think about Busta Rhymes, it’s awe-inspiring power, commitment to his craft, and commitment to excellence as an artist and performer,” LL said. “Busta was born to do something universal.”
Chuck D followed with his own praise, emphasizing Busta’s uniqueness: “You can try to imitate Busta, but you can’t duplicate him.”
When it was Busta’s turn to take the stage, he grew emotional reflecting on the journey that led him there.
“I worked so hard and I never asked for a shortcut, I never asked for a cheat code,” he said, holding back tears. “I was never raised by a support system that made it seem okay to try to go around honestly earning your rite to passage. I want to thank those people.”
Busta went on to express gratitude to Chuck D, Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone, and many others. But it was his words about his mother that hit deepest.
“My mom is my greatest superhero,” he shared. “My father, too, but the reason why I’m leaning so much on my moms is ’cause my mother and my father had two different approaches in how they wanted to do whatever they could to secure the win for me.”
