Watch Kanye West Honor Diddy in Surprise Appearance at 2022 BET Awards

Kanye West made a surprise appearance at last night’s BET Awards, during a tribute segment to Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Sean “Diddy” Combs. West gave a five-minute speech talking through the pair’s friendship, saying Diddy “understood contracts in a way a lot of us still don’t. Understood money in a way a lot of us still don’t. I go to him for advice to this day. He inspired so many of my choices. So many of my life choices. My wife choices. And here we are. Thanks for that, Puff.” Watch it in full below. 

The night’s Diddy tributes also included a video from Jay-Z and cameos from Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Busta Rhymes, Nas, Lil’ Kim, and Faith Evans, among others. 

West has kept a relatively low profile since pulling out of Coachella earlier this year. He released a video for his previously leaked track “Life of the Party,” which appears on Donda (Deluxe). The video features deepfake performances based on West’s childhood, but André 3000’s verse is cut, in a move Andre has attributed to West’s anti-profanity stance. West has also recently appeared on XXXTentacion’s “True Love” and as a producer on Consequence’s “Blood Stain” and Pusha-T’s It’s Almost Dry.