Erykah Badu Doesn’t Consider Iggy Azalea An Actual Rapper
Erykah Badu hosted the 2015 Soul Train Awards last night (November 29), two days after releasing her new But You Caint Use My Phone mixtape. Badu opened the show with a medley of her own songs and, through both her performance and her irreverent commentary, reminded viewers that there's absolutely no one else like her. Oh, and she also served an Iggy Azalea joke to a very appreciative crowd.
After letting the audience know that she wanted the evening's events to focus on soulful singing over rap's encroaching influence, Badu conducted on an on-brand (if imaginary) cellphone conversation with Iggy onstage. In it, she explained that this didn't pertain to the "Fancy" chart-topper "because you’re definitely not rap.” Iggy's gonna need some ice for that burn.
😂😭 Erykah Badu Clowning Iggy Azalea At The Soul Train Awards #ErykahBadu#IggyAzalea#soultrainawards@fatbellybellapic.twitter.com/4XdFRJ0FWs
— Blogionista (@BlogionistaTv) November 30, 2015
If the riff was scripted, it was almost certainly conceived by Erykah herself — she was an associate producer of the event, which she first hosted back in 1999. "I was a part of the show from its inception," she said [quotes via Billboard], "And as a writer on the show, they allowed me to be super loose." Judging from the televised reaction to her Iggy jab, Badu's creative input definitely paid off.
The evening also featured special tributes to both singer Jill Scott and veteran producer-singer Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, who received the Legend Award. The Weeknd took honors for Album of the Year and Best R&B/Soul Male Artist, while Video of the Year went to Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" featuring Bruno Mars (even though it was released over a year ago). Check out the list of winners below.
Best New Artist
Jidenna
Best R&B/Soul Male Artist
The Weeknd
Song of the Year
Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk”
Album of the Year
The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness
Video of the Year
Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk”
Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year
Kendrick Lamar, “Alright”
Centric Certified Award
Tyrese
Best Gospel and/or Inspirational Song
Lecrae, “All I Need Is You”
Best R&B/Soul Female Artist
Jill Scott
The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award
“Glory” (from the motion picture Selma) written by Lonnie Rashid Lynn, John Roger Stephens and Che Smith (artists: Common and John Legend)
Best Dance Performance
Silento, “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)”
Best Collaboration
Omarion featuring Chris Brown & Jhené Aiko, “Post to Be”
Stars Stone-Cold Cuddlin' With Their Animal Friends