Last night in Los Angeles, hip-hop had the VMAs in a headlock. Snoop Dogg hosted the show, and when the Best Hip-Hop Moon Person came out, it went to Cardi B and Kehlani for “Safe.”
She beat a stacked list: Don Toliver’s “E85,” Drake’s “Janice STFU,” Megan Thee Stallion’s “LOVER GIRL,” Travis Scott’s “DUMBO,” and Tyler, The Creator’s “SUGAR ON MY TONGUE.” That’s her fifth VMA overall, and her second Best Hip-Hop win after “Money” took it in 2019.
“Safe” comes off last year’s “Am I the Drama?,” the album that sent her on a 35-show tour. The Arrad-directed video plays like a short film, following a relationship that starts sweet and ends in tragedy, with Don Benjamin as the love interest.
But while hip-hop was winning, the show itself was catching strays. The Ravens-Cowboys game ran long and pushed the broadcast back more than 20 minutes, so clips were already floating around before some people even saw the opening. Then came the complaints: Madonna’s first VMA performance in 23 years got hit with lip-sync accusations, a pre-recorded Bruno Mars set had people side-eyeing, and by the end of the night fans were calling the whole thing an “Influencer Fest,” the worst VMAs ever, and telling MTV to just retire the show.
Hip-hop owned the night. The show itself is the part people are arguing about.