Busta Rhymes Honors Late Ananda Lewis in 1st-Ever Visionary Award Speech

Busta Rhymes made history with a new honor at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.

The rapper, 53, received the first-ever MTV VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award during the Sunday, September 7, ceremony at UBS Arena in New York.

“I want to thank my mother, I want to thank my father. Rest in peace, Dad. God is the greatest,” Rhymes said in his speech. “I want to thank my beautiful children. I want to thank DJ Scratch from the legendary engineering EPMD.”

Rhymes then gave a special shout-out to former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis, who died in June after a battle with breast cancer. She was 52.

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“I think we all need to acknowledge the incredible woman [who] loved us when we came to MTV during the ’90s. She loved us, she loved the culture [and] she lifted us up,” Rhymes said. “I love her very much. I miss her very much: the late, great [and] incredible royal empress, Ananda Lewis. I want to big-up her mother, her father, her sister.”

He concluded, “Thank you all so much, man. The blessings don’t stop so we don’t stop, baby!”

Ananda Lewis attends the 17th Annual MTV Video Music Awards on September 7, 2000. Getty Images

Rhymes also performed a medley of his biggest hits on Sunday, including “Gimme Some More,” “Touch It” and “Pass the Courvoisier.”

Rhymes has a long history with the VMAs, making his debut on the awards show in 1997. He has been nominated for 16 awards during the course of his career, though the Visionary Award marked his first win.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Last year, Rhymes earned a similar honor when he was presented with the Global Icon Award at the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards in November. He performed a career-spanning medley of hits at the time, including “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See,” “Break Ya Neck,” “Scenario” and “Look at Me Now.”

In his acceptance speech, Rhymes explained how much the Global Icon Award meant to him.

“Thirty-four years of professionally recording, this is the first time I’m getting an award from MTV,” he said. “And it feels f***ing incredible, yo.”

Rhymes also shared some inspiring words with the audience at the awards show.

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“They tell us that perfection is unreachable. That is a lie,” he noted. “See, the perfection is in the imperfection. We all are the perfection of what we’re supposed to be. So be the perfection that you’re supposed to be.”

In August, Rhymes discussed the industry recognition he has received as of late.

“At 25, 30 years in our career, we are just now starting to become the Mr. Miyagis of this s***,” he told Variety at the time. “We ain’t Daniel-sans no more. We’re starting to master this s*** — because we’re doing it, and doing it with grace, and we’re having a ball.”

Rhymes also credited his kids T’ziah, Mariah, T’khi, Cacie, Trillian and Sacario with making his work feel more meaningful.

“I’m actually probably enjoying and living my best life throughout my whole career within the last three to four years,” he said. “To be able to raise six beautiful children and now to get money doing what we love and be in the business with my kids doing what we love, there’s nothing f***ing better than that feeling to me.”