Rap Pioneer MC Lyte Officially Becomes ‘Dr. Moorer’ at Bennett College Ceremony

MC Lyte at the Essence Festival of Culture in July 2025. (Credit: Danielle G. Campbell / Wikimedia Commons)

Pioneer hip-hop artist and lyricist MC Lyte was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Bennett College during the institution’s centennial commencement ceremony this past weekend.

The honor, presented Saturday on the campus quadrangle, arrives during a massive milestone spring for the artist. Born Lana Michele Moorer, the hip-hop trailblazer was also recently announced as an official 2026 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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Moorer, who rose to prominence in the late 1980s and 1990s as the first solo female rapper to release a full-length studio album with 1988's "Lyte as a Rock," served as the keynote commencement speaker for the historic women's college. During her address to the Centennial Class of 2026, Moorer presented members of the graduating class with a special commemorative gift to mark the institution's 100th year as a women's college.

Interim President Dr. Teresa Hardee formally conferred the degree before a gathering of nearly 1,000 graduates, families, and alumnae.

"It was an honor to present this special recognition to someone whose voice has shaped culture and impacted generations," Hardee said during the ceremony. "MC Lyte's influence extends far beyond music. She is an entrepreneur, visionary, philanthropist, and advocate whose work continues to inspire people around the world. ... Today, she is not only a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee. She is also officially a Bennett Belle."

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The academic accolade adds to a highly decorated legacy for Moorer, whose 1993 single "Ruffneck" secured the first gold certification for a solo female rap artist in music history.

Last month, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2026 class, recognizing Moorer in the Early Influence category alongside Queen Latifah, Fela Kuti, and Celia Cruz. The formal induction ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 14 in Los Angeles.

In a recent interview reflecting on the Rock Hall honor, Moorer noted the cultural significance of the recognition and her enduring longevity in the industry.

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"Starting from 16 years old rapping lyrics in a basement to now taking on one of the most esteemed acknowledgements, to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — it feels surreal," she said. "It's humbling and serves as a reminder to keep moving in the direction of positivity and know that I am just the conduit. God is working through me to bring the very best of whatever it is he gives me as a creative vision. I just feel like I keep getting better."

Snoop Dogg’s Company Denies Responsibility In Drakeo the Ruler Backstage Killing

Drakeo the Ruler appears on the cover of his posthumous album “The Undisputed Truth.” Snoop Dogg’s LLC is seeking dismissal from a wrongful death lawsuit tied to Drakeo’s fatal stabbing at the 2021 “Once Upon a Time in L.A.” festival. (Cover art by Gallery Provence)

Snoop Dogg’s company is asking a Los Angeles judge to cut it loose from litigation over the fatal backstage stabbing of Drakeo the Ruler, arguing that its connection to the 2021 festival ended with Snoop Dogg being booked to perform.

In legal documents obtained by TMZ and reported Wednesday, Snoop Dogg’s LLC moved for summary judgment in a case brought by Drakeo’s brother, Devante Caldwell, and others, contending the company had no role in producing, managing or securing the "Once Upon a Time in L.A." festival.

Drakeo the Ruler, whose legal name was Darrell Caldwell, was stabbed in a backstage all-access area at Exposition Park on Dec. 18, 2021, shortly before he was scheduled to perform. Lawsuits stemming from the attack allege his entourage was overwhelmed by a large group after security failures allowed unauthorized people into a restricted area.

Caldwell, known for a distinctly original, whisper-like flow often described as "nervous music," was a towering figure in the modern Los Angeles underground scene. He was widely respected for his relentless creative drive, most notably recording his critically acclaimed 2020 mixtape, "Thank You for Using GTL," over a jail phone line while awaiting trial at Men’s Central Jail. He had been acquitted of murder and attempted murder charges, but remained jailed as prosecutors pursued additional charges. He later pleaded to conspiracy charges and was released in November 2020.

In early 2022, separate civil actions were filed by relatives and representatives connected to Caldwell, including his brother Devante Caldwell, his mother, Darrylene Corniel, and his son through guardian ad litem Tianna Purtue. The lawsuits targeted primary promoter Live Nation, C3 Presents, Bobby Dee Presents, Snoop Dogg’s LLC, venue-related entities and security companies, accusing organizers of failing to provide adequate security despite alleged foreseeable risks.

One complaint stated that "Drakeo and his group fought for their lives against insurmountable odds, shocked and horrified at the fact that no security ever materialized to intervene."

According to the new legal documents obtained by TMZ, Snoop Dogg’s LLC argues it had no involvement in festival operations and cannot be held liable. The filing states the company never signed a lease or license agreement, held no ownership or leasehold interest in Exposition Park and was not responsible for hiring or managing the event’s security detail.

The documents further state that no one from Snoop Dogg’s company witnessed or participated in Caldwell’s death, nor did they have any relationship with the assailants. After the tragedy in 2021, Snoop Dogg released a statement expressing condolences and saying he was in his dressing room when he was informed of the incident. He said he chose to leave the festival grounds and closed with, "IM PRAYING FOR PEACE IN HIP HOP."

The latest move by Snoop Dogg’s LLC follows a wave of successful dismissals for other defendants. Earlier this month, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Montgomery granted summary judgments removing the Los Angeles Football Club and Bobby Dee Presents from the case. The festival was held at what was then Banc of California Stadium, now BMO Stadium, in Exposition Park.

Bobby Dee Presents served as the booking agent for Snoop Dogg, one of the festival’s marquee headliners. In court papers, lawyers for the company wrote that it did not organize or produce the festival, did not hire security, did not establish or implement the security plan and did not own the land where the concert was held.

Montgomery agreed, finding that the plaintiffs had not shown that the booking company or stadium-related defendants violated an obligation to protect Caldwell.

While the roster of defendants continues to narrow, the core accusations regarding crowd control and festival safety remain directed at the remaining defendants, including Live Nation. A final status conference is scheduled for Sept. 8.

Cardi B Secures Six Bet Awards Nods, Leading a Field Packed With Legacy Acts

Cardi B appears on the cover art for her second studio album, "Am I the Drama?" The platinum-selling project helped the rapper secure an industry-leading six nominations at the 2026 BET Awards, including a nod for Album of the Year. (Atlantic Records)

Cardi B leads the 2026 BET Awards nominations with six nods, giving this year’s ceremony its cleanest headline and one of its most current stars. Kendrick Lamar and Mariah the Scientist follow with five nominations each, while Clipse, Doja Cat, Doechii, Teyana Taylor, Olivia Dean and Latto each earned four.

But beneath the numbers, this year’s BET field has a long memory.

The 2026 nominations are not simply a roll call of streaming-era momentum. They also make room for artists, directors and cultural architects whose work helped build the modern language of hip-hop, R&B and Black popular culture. Clipse, De La Soul, Nas and DJ Premier, Hype Williams, Benny Boom, Director X, Jill Scott, T.I. and Usher all appear across major categories, giving the show a deeper historical charge than a standard awards-season announcement.

Pusha T and No Malice did not reunite for nostalgia points.

Clipse earned four nominations, including Album of the Year for “Let God Sort Em Out,” Best Group and two nods for “Chains & Whips,” their Kendrick Lamar-assisted single. The duo’s presence gives the BET Awards one of its clearest links between early-2000s rap austerity and the current appetite for sharp, grown, high-stakes hip-hop.

The Best Group category carries that tension even further. Clipse will compete in a field that also includes De La Soul, French Montana and Max B, Nas and DJ Premier, Metro Boomin and DJ Spinz, Terrace Martin and Kenyon Dixon, Wizkid and Asake, FLO and 41. It is one of the year’s most interesting categories because it refuses to live in one era, one sound or one definition of group power.

The same generational conversation is happening behind the camera. Video Director of the Year includes Hype Williams, Benny Boom and Director X, three filmmakers whose work helped turn hip-hop and R&B videos into cultural events before social media became the main stage. They are nominated alongside Anderson .Paak, Cole Bennett, Cactus Jack, A$AP Rocky and Dan Streit, Cardi B and Patientce Foster, and Teyana “Spike-Tey” Taylor.

That category is more than a technical race. It is a reminder that the visual grammar of Black music — the lens flares, fish-eye swagger, luxury surrealism, street-level gloss and cinematic ambition — did not appear from nowhere. It was built, copied, stretched and reinterpreted across generations.

T.I. also appears across three categories. The Atlanta rapper is up for Best Male Hip Hop Artist, Video of the Year for “Let ’Em Know” and the Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award as part of “Headphones” with Lecrae and Killer Mike.

In the R&B lanes, Jill Scott continues to move like an artist outside the churn. She is nominated for Best Female R&B/Pop Artist and has two entries in the BET Her category: “Be Great” featuring Trombone Shorty and “Beautiful People.” Usher is nominated for Best Male R&B/Pop Artist.

BET also expanded the ceremony with two new categories. The Fashion Vanguard Award recognizes cultural impact through fashion, with nominees including A$AP Rocky, Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Cardi B, Colman Domingo, Doechii, Rihanna, Teyana Taylor and Zendaya. The new Pulse Award honors digital media and cultural influence, with nominees including “85 South Show,” “Baby, This Is Keke Palmer,” Charlamagne Tha God, Don Lemon, Druski, “It Is What It Is,” “Joe and Jada,” “On the Radar” and “R&B Money Podcast.”

Those additions matter because they acknowledge what the culture already knows: influence no longer moves through one lane. It moves through songs, videos, podcasts, fashion, clips, interviews, memes and moments that can change the conversation before traditional media catches up.

That is what gives this year’s nominations more weight than a simple leaderboard. Cardi B’s six nominations make her the obvious headline. Kendrick Lamar and Mariah the Scientist give the show heavyweight momentum. But the presence of Clipse, De La Soul, Hype Williams, Nas and DJ Premier, Jill Scott, T.I. and Usher gives the 2026 BET Awards something else: memory.

The new school may be leading the count, but the architects are still in the building.

2026 BET Awards

The Complete Nominations Board

The Leaderboard

• 6 Nominations: Cardi B
• 5 Nominations: Kendrick Lamar, Mariah the Scientist
• 4 Nominations: Clipse, Doechii, Doja Cat, Latto, Olivia Dean, Teyana Taylor
• 3 Nominations: T.I., Jill Scott, Tems, A$AP Rocky, Bruno Mars, Bryson Tiller, Chris Brown, Kehlani, Metro Boomin, SZA, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, YK Niece

The Complete List

Album of the Year

Cardi B ("Am I the Drama?"), Tyler, the Creator ("Don't Tap the Glass"), Wale ("Everything Is a Lot"), Mariah the Scientist ("Hearts Sold Separately"), Clipse ("Let God Sort Em Out"), Leon Thomas ("Mutt Deluxe: Heel"), J. Cole ("The Fall-Off"), Bruno Mars ("The Romantic")

Best Male Hip Hop Artist

A$AP Rocky, Baby Keem, BigXthaPlug, DaBaby, Don Toliver, Drake, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, T.I.

Best Female Hip Hop Artist

Cardi B, Coi Leray, Doechii, Doja Cat, GloRilla, Latto, Megan Thee Stallion, Monaleo, YK Niece

Best Male R&B/Pop Artist

Brent Faiyaz, Bruno Mars, Bryson Tiller, Chris Brown, Durand Bernarr, GIVĒON, Leon Thomas, October London, Usher

Best Female R&B/Pop Artist

Ari Lennox, Coco Jones, Ella Mai, Jill Scott, Kehlani, Mariah the Scientist, Olivia Dean, SZA, Tems

Best Group

41, Clipse, De La Soul, FLO, French Montana & Max B, Metro Boomin & DJ Spinz, Nas & DJ Premier, Terrace Martin & Kenyon Dixon, Wizkid & Asake

Best Collaboration

Clipse & Kendrick Lamar ("Chains & Whips"), Cardi B feat. Jeezy & Latto ("Errtime Remix"), Summer Walker feat. Latto & Doja Cat ("Go Girl"), Baby Keem feat. Kendrick Lamar & Momo Boyd ("Good Flirts"), Mariah the Scientist & Kali Uchis ("Is It a Crime"), Chris Brown feat. Bryson Tiller & Usher ("It Depends - The Remix"), Metro Boomin feat. Quavo, Breskii, YK Niece & DJ Spinz ("Take Me Thru Dere"), Gunna feat. Burna Boy ("wgft")

Video of the Year

Ella Mai ("100"), Doechii ("Anxiety"), Mariah the Scientist ("Burning Blue"), Tyla ("Chanel"), Teyana Taylor ("Escape Room"), Kehlani ("Folded"), T.I. ("Let 'Em Know"), Kendrick Lamar & SZA ("luther")

Video Director of the Year

A$AP Rocky & Dan Streit, Anderson .Paak, Benny Boom, Cactus Jack, Cardi B & Patientce Foster, Cole Bennett, Director X, Hype Williams, Teyana "Spike-Tey" Taylor

Best New Artist

Belly Gang Kushington, DESTIN CONRAD, JayDon, kwn, Miles Minnick, Monaleo, Olivia Dean, RAYE, Trap Dickey

BET Her Award

Tasha Cobbs Leonard ("Already Good"), Jill Scott feat. Trombone Shorty ("Be Great"), Jill Scott ("Beautiful People"), Tems ("First"), Doechii feat. SZA ("girl, get up."), Summer Walker feat. Latto & Doja Cat ("Go Girl"), Doja Cat ("Gorgeous"), Olivia Dean ("Lady Lady")

The Fashion Vanguard Award (NEW)

A$AP Rocky, Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Cardi B, Colman Domingo, Doechii, Rihanna, Teyana Taylor, Zendaya

The Pulse Award (NEW)

85 South Show, Baby, This Is Keke Palmer, Charlamagne Tha God, Don Lemon, Druski, It Is What It Is, Joe and Jada, On the Radar, R&B Money Podcast

Viewers’ Choice

Mariah the Scientist ("Burning Blue"), Clipse feat. Kendrick Lamar (“Chains & Whips”), Tyla (“Chanel”), Kehlani (“Folded”), Bruno Mars (“I Just Might”), Chris Brown feat. Bryson Tiller (“It Depends”), Olivia Dean (“Man I Need”), Cardi B (“Outside”), Dave & Tems (“Raindance”), Metro Boomin feat. Quavo, Breskii, YK Niece & DJ Spinz (“Take Me Thru Dere”)

Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award

Kirk Franklin ("Able"), Darrel Walls, PJ Morton & Kim Burrell ("Able - Remix"), BeBe Winans ("All to Thee"), Tasha Cobbs Leonard ("Already Good"), CeCe Winans ("At the Cross"), Tasha Cobbs Leonard & John Legend ("Church"), Kirk Franklin ("Do It Again"), Lecrae, Killer Mike & T.I. ("Headphones")

Best Actress

Angela Bassett, Ayo Edebiri, Chase Infiniti, Coco Jones, Cynthia Erivo, Keke Palmer, Quinta Brunson, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor

Best Actor

Aaron Pierre, Aldis Hodge, Anthony Mackie, Colman Domingo, Damson Idris, Delroy Lindo, Denzel Washington, Michael B. Jordan, Sterling K. Brown

Best Movie

Highest 2 Lowest, Him, Number One on the Call Sheet, One Battle After Another, Relationship Goals, Ruth & Boaz, Sinners, Wicked: For Good

YoungStars Award

Daria Johns, Graceyn "Gracie" Hollingsworth, Heiress Harris, Jazzy's World TV, Lela Hoffmeister, North West, Thaddeus J. Mixson, VanVan

Sportswoman of the Year Award

A'ja Wilson, Angel Reese, Claressa Shields, Coco Gauff, Flau'jae Johnson, Gabby Thomas, Jordan Chiles, Naomi Osaka, Sha'Carri Richardson

Sportsman of the Year Award

Aaron Judge, Anthony Edwards, Caleb Williams, Jalen Brunson, Jalen Hurts, LeBron James, Shedeur Sanders, Stephen Curry