Busta Rhymes jokes during MTV VMAs acceptance speech: 'Next time y'all take 35 years'

Busta Rhymes proved his legendary hip hop status during his set at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.

With his hype man Spliff Star, the New York native took over the stage in a fiery all-red leather ensemble ahead of making history and becoming the first-ever recipient of the Rock the Bells Visionary Award at the VMAs on Sunday, Sept. 7.

Busta went all out and performed "Pass the Courvoisier Part II," a rendition of "Touch It (Remix)" and "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See," among other of his greatest hits, including "Scenario," the song from A Tribe Called Quest that introduced him in 1992.

Rappers Joyner Lucas, Papoose and GloRilla joined him on stage.

Catch up: Brutally honest reviews of every VMAs performance, including Sabrina Carpenter