MTV VMAs performances: Five memorable moments
TheGrio highlights the five best performances from the 2023 MTV VMAs on Tuesday night from the Prudential Center in Newark.
The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards returned to the Prudential Center in Newark on Tuesday, with Nicki Minaj hosting, for the second consecutive year. This year’s ceremony included a lot of surprises and history-making moments.
For many, it will be remembered as Taylor Swift’s night, with the pop superstar sweeping the awards with nine wins, including for Video of the Year. For others, the night showcased multiple cultures and celebrated multiple generations.
From Rema winning the first-ever Best Afrobeat Video award to Tomorrow X Together emulating the spirit of Michael Jackson during their showstopping performance, Tuesday night’s VMAs had no shortage of memorable minutes.
Below, theGrio highlights the best five performances from the ceremony.
Lil Wayne feeds at the opening
The 2023 MTV VMAs started with an opening performance from one of rap’s most decorated stars, Lil Wayne. Flanked by female dancers and beaming pyrotechnics, Lil Wayne started the show off with a literal bang, rapping his hit, “Uproar,” before easing into the live premiere of his new single, “Kat Food.” Wayne is a VMA veteran, but he performed with the energy and vitality of a first-timer.
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion play the ‘bongos’
Cardi B descended from the sky on a giant disco ball, indicating a return to chart domination, and unleashed her new collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion, “Bongos.” The pair enhanced the color vibes from the song’s music video on stage with a tropical theme, as shirtless men beat on conga drums while Cardi and Megan rapped and strolled across the stadium. Each starting their verses from opposite stages; they met in the middle and joined various dancers in some sexy choreography.
Diddy’s global moment
Sean “Diddy” Combs received the prestigious Global Icon Award for his long-lasting, far-reaching cultural influence, displaying that effect with an extended medley of his classic records. Wearing an all-red outfit, Combs blazed through “I’ll Be Missing You,” “All About the Benjamins,” “Bad Boy For Life” and “I Need a Girl (Part 2).” He received some assistance from his son, King Combs, who rapped Ma$e’s verse on “Mo Money Mo Problems,” as well as Keyshia Cole on “Last Night” and Yung Miami on their new song, “Gotta Move On.”
Shakira’s gets her flowers
MTV honored Shakira with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for her lifetime achievement in music videos. Introduced by friend and collaborator Wyclef Jean, the Colombian superstar brought the crowd to a frenzy and kept them there for 10 straight minutes with an unrelenting medley of hits. Displaying her peerless flexibility, Shakira performed “Hips Don’t Lie,” “Objection (Tango),” “Whenever, Wherever” and more, dancing, playing guitar and elevating above the crowd along the way.
MTV celebrates hip-hop’s 50th anniversary
The ceremony’s final performance paid homage to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Some of the genre’s most legendary names showed up for this one-of-a-kind moment that took up the whole venue. The tribute began with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s surviving members performing their landmark classic, “The Message.” Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick performed “The Show” on the other side of the stadium before Minaj and Wayne engaged in an unofficial Young Money reunion with this year’s “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” and Wayne’s 2008 classic, “A Milli.” LL Cool J took over for the rest of the set, with his own “I’m Bad” and “Mama Said Knock You Out” while assisting DMC of Run DMC on “Rock Box” and “Walk This Way.”
Matthew Allen is an entertainment writer of music and culture for theGrio. He is an award-winning music journalist, TV producer and director based in Brooklyn, NY. He’s interviewed the likes of Quincy Jones, Jill Scott, Smokey Robinson and more for publications such as Ebony, Jet, The Root, Village Voice, Wax Poetics, Revive Music, Okayplayer, and Soulhead. His video work can be seen on PBS/All Arts, Brooklyn Free Speech TV and BRIC TV.
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