Busta Rhymes to Receive Hip Hop Icon Award In Harlem

Busta Rhymes‘ honorific season continues with the news that he’ll be receiving the Hip Hop Icon Award during Harlem Week.

Variety reports that Busta will receive the award, presented by the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, on Aug. 17 as part of Harlem Day, which is the final event that closes out Harlem Week for NYC residents.

Busta will receive the award at St. Nicholas Park — the same spot where his son, Trillian Wood-Smith, will be performing.

News of Busta’s award comes around the same time that the Caribbean Elite Group announced that he’d be honored with the Elite ICon award at the 2025 Caribbean Music Awards

COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what’s next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.

Earlier this month, Busta received the 2,818th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a stirring ceremony that brought out hip-hop legends LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, and Chuck D.

LL Cool J and Chuck D spoke first at the event and waxed poetic about Busta’s impact on hip-hop.

“When I think about Busta Rhymes, it’s awe-inspiring power, commitment to his craft, and commitment to excellence as an artist and performer,” LL said. “Busta was born to do something universal.”

Next came Chuck D, who honored Busta for being unlike anyone else in rap history. “You can try to imitate Busta, but you can’t duplicate him,” said the Public Enemy leader.

When Busta hit the stage to speak about the star, he became emotional because of what it took to get there.

“I worked so hard and I never asked for a shortcut, I never asked for a cheat code,” said Busta, with tears in his eyes. “I was never raised by a support system that made it seem okay to try to go around honestly earning your rite to passage. I want to thank those people.”

In his speech, Busta thanked everyone from Chuck D to Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone — but it was his tribute to his mother that had the most emotional impact.

“My mom is my greatest superhero,” Busta said. “My father, too, but the reason why I’m leaning so much on my moms is ’cause my mother and my father had two different approaches in how they wanted to do whatever they could to secure the win for me.”