BET and Soul Train Awards - GONE! - Introducing The World Hip Hop Awards
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NEW CITY, N.Y. - illiNews -- NEW YORK – With the announcement that the BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, and portions of MTV's music programming have come to an end, the World Hip Hop Awards (WHHA) — an awards event unlike anything the world has experienced — unapologetically steps forward to declare that this not a cultural loss, but rather a cultural turning point. Positioning itself as the long-awaited opportunity to redefine and usher in a new renaissance for Hip Hop and Black American culture, the WHHA is destined to become the most coveted awards in Hip Hop and global humanitarian recognition.— For the first time— the WHHA brings together signed and independent MCs standing side-by-side with DJs, Break Dancers, Graffiti and Visual Artists, world and community leaders, innovators, and organizations representing Hip Hop's 5th Element: KNOWLEDGE from every region of the United States and countries around the world onto one historic worldwide stage.

Alongside them will be some of the most influential artists in American Hip Hop, all nominated by global Hip Hop enthusiasts to be celebrated for their reverence, authenticity, and unique interpretations of authentic Hip Hop music and culture that embodies family, community, and moral and artistic excellence.

Revolutionary in structure, the WHHA is the first traveling awards event and the first to present Hip Hop not merely as a genre but as a 50-year-strong global culture. Despite shifting industry trends, Hip Hop remains the world's most-revered genre and most influential cultural exports on the planet. The WHHA finally offers a platform worthy of Hip Hop's status.

Targeted hosts, Queen Latifah and Dave Chappelle — a dream team pairing symbolizing both Hip Hop royalty and a sharp, culturally aware comedic voice. Slated to be streamed LIVE worldwide from Barclays Center, Brooklyn NY in 2026 and Coca Cola Arena in 2027 Dubai UAE — free or at minimal cost, ensuring global access for all involved and position the WHHA as an elevated VIP destination event and a culturally restorative experience. Promising electrifying performances, historic debuts, surprise guests, innovative new award categories, both established and undiscovered artists — performing in multiple languages while celebrating Hip Hop's true foundation in their art and lives. More than an awards ceremony — and dubbed "Hip Hop's Grammys" for its family-friendly sophistication — the WHHA aims to re-educate the world's understanding of Hip Hop.

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The visionary behind the WHHA is Tandy Weems, a 30-year plus veteran of the Hip Hop industry whose résumé reads like the history of Hip Hop. She has worked with, supported, and strategized for some of the most iconic artists and executives in Hip Hop, including The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Mary J. Blige, Method Man, Redman, Main Source, Alicia Keys, Zulu Nation, Drake, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan, and Mike Tyson to name a few. A Brooklyn-born Hip Hop OG, Tandy pioneered the earliest live-streaming of Hip Hop events — paving the way for today's digital era. Her business and legal expertise made her a trusted right-hand to industry leaders such as Mark Pitts (RCA/ByStorm Ent.), Angelo Ellerbee (Double XXposure PR), James "Jimmy Henchmen" Rosemond (CZAR Ent.),), and XUMANII founder Alex Frigon.

Tandy shares the origin of the WHHA:

"I first visualized the WHHA while working with Mark Pitts at ByStorm Entertainment, we managed Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, and Changing Faces from my home in Flushing Queens, so the WHHA had to wait. I put it away — until Jada Pinkett Smith's powerful 2017 message urging the Black community to stop complaining and build our own award platforms that I remembered it. In ways, Jada is responsible for the WHHA's rebirth."

When asked about the closure of BET, and Soul Train Awards, Tandy reflects:

"The WHHA isn't here to replace the BET and Soul Train Awards. Their contributions are undeniable. However, for years the community has been pleading for a return to authentic Hip Hop and Black culture, the opposite of what we are seeing today. The World Hip Hop Awards is the direct answer to that call. 'It's us doing us --- differently.'"

Tandy believes by honoring signed and independent artists equally and on a global stage, the WHHA will encourage artistic freedom and provide an alternative from the corporate music business model that demands the glorification of violence, hyper-sexuality, stereotypes and exploitation disguised as Hip Hop and black culture. In addition, the WHHA will serve a long-ignored demographic: mature, educated, and well-funded consumers who don't resonate with the current Hip Hop business model but still desire Hip Hop music and culture.

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Tandy continues:

"The Hip Hop community and Black culture need the World Hip Hop Awards. We have lost control of our cultural narrative and the ability to benefit from our creations. While the world enjoys Hip Hop — building generational wealth and influence --- we, its creators, enjoy none of the wealth and is building generational trauma due to its weaponization against us. So I am pleading with Black America and Hip Hop enthusiasts worldwide, brands, influencers and, yes, Dave Chappelle and Queen Latifah as well — to help save lives by re-building and re-defining Hip Hop and Black culture to its true meaning and purpose within the world--- support the World Hip Hop Awards."

About The World Hip Hop Awards
The WHHA is the first global Hip Hop awards event, the first to honor Hip Hop as a worldwide culture and the first to honor independent and signed MCs equally, DJs, Break Dancers, Graffiti  Artists, and worldwide innovators on one historic stage alongside past and present American Hip Hop icons. With support, the WHHA will stream LIVE worldwide, first in America from the Barclays Center in 2026 and then the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai in 2027. For partnerships: info@worldhiphopawards.com.