Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey Celebrate Black Music and Legacy at the 2025 MTV VMAs

The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards was a night filled with luxe fashions, high-energy performances, viral moments and most of all, a unified love for music. The night, however, placed a major focus on two icons whose careers shaped the culture for many years. Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey both delivered performances and award speeches that served as reminders to the world of the power that lives in music, longevity that comes with hard work and immeasurable talent and the influence of Black artistry. 

If pyrotechnics were a person, they would be Busta Rhymes. The recipient of the first-ever Rock the Bells Visionary Award, he set the stage ablaze for a high-energy performance. Joined by his longtime hype man Spliff Star, he launched into an electrifying medley that felt like a masterclass in hip-hop performance. Running through his catalog of classics from “Scenario” to “Break Ya Neck,” Joyner Lucas joined him for the light speed “Gimme Some More” while Papoose joined him for their remix to 2005’s “Touch It.” Busta’s performance of “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” hit a new level with GloRilla’s Southern cadence, and the finale of “Pass the Courvoisier Part II” brought Joyner, Papoose, and Glo together for a family-style celebration of Busta Rhymes’ rap legacy. 

After LL Cool J presented him with the honor, Busta reflected on those who inspired him along the way, saying, “One of my heroes and greatest inspirations. The reason I wrote my first rhyme, LL Cool J.” He thanked God, his parents, his children, DJ Scratch and the late Ananda Lewis, who was a video jockey on MTV in the late 1990s, for welcoming him and Black music to the network. Busta closed out his speech saying, “The blessings don’t stop, so we don’t stop.”

Mariah Carey matched that high-octane energy on a demure level, as she finally received her first-ever VMA, the Video Vanguard Award, presented by Ariana Grande. Mariah strutted across the stage, looking every bit majestic, captivating the audience with a medley of hits that spanned across her career. She started things off with her new single “Sugar Sweet,” and quickly switched gears to her classics like “Fantasy,” “Honey” and “Heartbreaker.” MiMi included a playful cameo from her alter ego Bianca and a nod to Snoop Dogg’s “Ain’t No Fun.” From there, she performed “Obsessed” and “It’s Like That,” before closing out with “We Belong Together” backed by live violinists, who only elevated the elegance of Mariah’s performance. 

In her award speech, she quipped, “I can’t believe I’m getting my first VMA tonight. I have one question: What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?” Mariah also reflected on her faux standoff with Whitney Houston at the 1998 VMAs and on presenting the Video Vanguard Award to LL Cool J in 1997, before concluding her speech with: “Music evolves. Videos evolve. But the fun is eternal.”

While the evening rightly celebrated two musical titans, it can’t be overlooked that Kendrick Lamar walked away with just one win, for Best Cinematography for "Not Like Us." After creating inescapable waves in hip-hop over the past year, his omission from the VMAs winner’s circle is sure to spark discussion.

Nonetheless, Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey echoed the same undeniable truth: Black music doesn’t just shape culture, it defines it.