Accepting the award on the behalf of the late 'Sad!' rapper, Cleopatra Bernard was joined on stage by his former manager Solomon Sounds and his lawyer Bob Celestin.
- October 9, 2018
AceShowbiz - XXXTENTACION has posthumously received the award for Best New Artist at the 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards.
The musician, real name Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, was shot dead in a suspected armed robbery in Deerfield Beach, Florida at the age of 20, leaving behind an unnamed girlfriend, who is pregnant with a baby boy due to be born in November.
During the awards ceremony which took place on Sunday night (October 06), XXXTENTACION's mother, Cleopatra Bernard, accepted the prize on her late son's behalf. She was also joined on stage by his former manager Solomon Sounds and his lawyer Bob Celestin, breaking down in tears on stage as she received the honour at the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami.
The "Sad!" rapper was up against fellow nominees Juice WRLD, Lil Baby, Rich the Kid and BlocBoy JB. He has additionally been nominated at the American Music Awards for New Artist of the Year and Favorite Album - Rap/Hip-Hop for 17, his debut record.
Moonlight, the third single from the hip-hop artist's recent album "?", was posthumously released in August, while the accompanying music video was unveiled last week (October 01). Lil Wayne, has also collaborated with the late rapper on "Don't Cry", a track from his long-awaited album "Tha Carter V".
Four men have since been charged with XXXTENTACION's murder, which occurred on 18 June.
BET Networks will broadcast the 2018 BET Hip-Hop Awards ceremony on October 16, in which Drake, Cardi B and Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) have all been nominated in multiple categories.
