ATLANTA (AP) – With a picture of his mother on a large screen behind him, Doug E Fresh struggled to complete his sentence. The rapper dubbed “The Human Beat Box” choked up and shed tears as he received the “I Am Hip-Hop Award” at the ninth BET Hip-Hop Awards on Saturday.
Fresh eventually told the crowd that his mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease, died five months ago.
“I have to acknowledge her,” Fresh said at the taped award show at the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center. “I want to thank this woman and hip-hop. If it wasn’t for hip-hop, I don’t know where I would be.”
He also thanked those who helped him throughout his career, from Slick Rick to his group the Get Fresh Crew.
The show airs Oct. 14.