Busta Rhymes Feted as Hip-Hop Icon During Harlem Day Celebration

Busta Rhymes holds up the Hip Hop Icon Award during Harlem Week’s Harlem Day celebration at St. Nicholas Park in New York. The Brooklyn-born rapper was honored for his three-decade career, global impact, and contributions to hip hop culture. 

Busta Rhymes, whose rapid-fire flow and high-voltage performances helped redefine East Coast rap, was honored Sunday with the Hip Hop Icon Award during the finale of Harlem Week. The Brooklyn-born emcee received the recognition from the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce at St. Nicholas Park, where his son, Trillian Wood-Smith, also performed.

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The honor came as part of Harlem Day, the signature closing event of Harlem Week, a 51-year-old celebration themed this year as “Celebrate Our Magic.” Harlem Day featured three stages of music and tributes to Congressman Charles B. Rangel, Dr. Hazel Dukes, and the late Harry Belafonte, along with a musical salute to Quincy Jones led by Ray Chew.

Organizers selected Busta Rhymes not only for his chart-topping hits, platinum albums, and Grammy-nominated career, but also for his enduring influence on hip-hop culture and his global representation of New York. Over more than three decades, he has collaborated across genres and delivered boundary-pushing music videos and performances that inspired generations.

On Instagram, Busta thanked Harlem Week’s organizers and the community, writing: “THE BLESSINGS DON’T STOP SO THE BLESSINGS WON’T EVER STOP!!! … AIN’T NOTHING BETTER THAN TO RECEIVE YOUR FLOWERS WHILE YOU CAN SMELL ‘EM IN ABUNDANCE!!!”

The award follows another milestone for Busta Rhymes earlier this month, when he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, cementing his place among hip-hop’s most influential figures.

Courts Hand 3½-Year Sentence to Sean Kingston in Fraud Case

Sean Kingston appears in a booking photo following his arrest on federal wire fraud charges. The singer was sentenced Friday to three and a half years in prison in connection with a $1 million luxury goods scheme. (Photo Credit: Broward Sheriff’s Office)

The saga of Sean Kingston — once known for the breezy charm of “Beautiful Girls” — has taken a starkturn.

On Friday, the 35-year-old singer was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison, plus three years of supervised release, after being convicted of his role in a $1 million wire fraud scheme alongside his mother, Janice Eleanor Turner, in March 2025. Turner previously received a five-year prison term, plus supervised release, in July.

Janice Eleanor Turner,

Kingston’s mother, is

serving a five-year sentence 

for her role in the fraud

scheme.

In court, Kingston — real name Kisean Paul Anderson — apologized to the judge, expressing regret over his actions. He had sought to delay surrender due to health issues, but Judge David Leibowitz ordered immediate custody, rejecting the request.

The case against the duo revealed a striking pattern: between April 2023 and March 2024, Kingston and his mother approached dealerships, jewelers, and specialty retailers with promises of social media promotion in lieu of payment. Victims were invited to Kingston’s Florida home and shown fabricated wire receipts to explain payment delays. According to investigators, the items — including a bullet-proof Escalade, a 19-foot LED TV, and luxury watches — were never paid for.

Prosecutors accused Kingston of exploiting his celebrity status to manipulate victims into parting with their goods, describing his actions as a calculated deception. Kingston’s attorney painted a different picture, arguing he was financially naive — thrust into fame as a teenager and unable to manage his money. The judge recognized his acceptance of responsibility and gave him a lighter sentence than initially requested.

The downfall began with a SWAT raid on Kingston’s rented Southwest Ranches mansion in May 2024. Turner was taken into custody on the spot, while Kingston was apprehended later at Fort Irwin, California, where he had been performing.

Kingston’s rise to fame began at age 17 with his 2007 debut, “Beautiful Girls,” which earned the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Hits like “Fire Burning” and “Take You There” followed. In recent years, his legal troubles and inability to manage finances — despite continued musical output like the single “Thick Thighs” in October 2024 — added an undercurrent of cautionary narrative to his legacy.

LL Cool J to Run the Show as Sole Host of 2025 MTV VMAs

LL Cool J will host the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards solo for the first time on Sept. 7 at UBS Arena in New York. (Photo Credit: Peter Yang)

LL Cool J has been a fixture of the MTV Video Music Awards for decades — tearing up stages, setting records, and making history long before most of today’s nominees were even in the game. Now, the Queens-born hip-hop pioneer is stepping into the spotlight solo to host the 2025 VMAs on Sept. 7, live from UBS Arena in New York.

The broadcast — airing coast-to-coast on CBS, simulcast on MTV, and streaming on Paramount+ — marks the first time LL will emcee the awards by himself. He co-hosted in 2022 alongside Nicki Minaj and Jack Harlow, but this year, it’s his name alone at the top of the bill.

The move feels like a full-circle moment for a rapper who’s been part of VMA history since the early ’90s. In 1991, LL took home his first Moon Person for Best Rap Video. Six years later, he became the first rapper to receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, a recognition of both his music video innovation and his role in bringing hip-hop visuals into the mainstream.

In the years since, he’s turned the VMAs into a personal stage for culture-shifting moments — from leading an all-star tribute to hip-hop’s 50th anniversary in 2023 to a surprise Def Jam 40th anniversary set with Public Enemy in 2024.

This year, LL isn’t just the host — he’s a contender. His 2024 single “Murdergram Deaux,” a collaboration with Eminem from his critically acclaimed album The Force, is nominated for Best Hip Hop.

For LL Cool J, the VMAs gig is another chapter in a career that’s defied categories. A two-time Grammy winner, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and multi-platinum artist, he’s also had a 14-season run as Special Agent Sam Hanna on “NCIS: Los Angeles” and launched the SiriusXM channel Rock The Bells Radio to preserve and promote classic hip-hop.

His return to the VMAs is more than nostalgia — it’s proof that the rapper who broke through at 16 with “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” still knows how to command a stage.

“LL Cool J is the blueprint,” said MTV executive producer Bruce Gillmer. “His impact spans music, television, film and culture. Having him host solo for the first time is going to be electric.”