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Busta Rhymes was honored with the Rock the Bells Visionary Award at the 2025 VMAs
He was surrounded by family at the awards show
The rap icon tells PEOPLE about watching son Trillian blossom as a rapper in his own right — and why he doesn’t immediately tell audiences they’re related
The 2025 MTV VMAs was a celebration for Busta Rhymes and his family.
The rap icon, 53, was honored with the Rock the Bells Visionary Award during the awards show at New York’s UBS Arena on Sunday, Sept. 7 with three of his kids, two of his nephews, manager Mona Scott-Young and many peers in the building to support him.
“It’s probably one of the most incredible feelings for several reasons,” Busta tells PEOPLE on the red carpet. “It’s one thing to have a vision when you were a fan, and you were still in single-digit age, and you was being [babysat] ’cause your mom and your dad was busting ass to make sure you had everything you needed, and you fell in love with this thing. And you just thought one day, by the grace of God that you would get a chance to be a part of this.”
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Busta Rhymes at the MTV VMAs in Elmont, New York on Sept. 7, 2025
He continues, “And then you finally get the chance, and now you gotta figure out how to secure the win once you’re in it. And then you gotta be better than the win you secured and better than that win that you secured. So, to have these visions that are constant, and then you finally get to this place where you go from being a child to now you’re pulling up to a 35-year career legacy.”
The honor, which marked Busta’s first VMA, was presented to him by Ciara, with whom he’s collaborated on songs like “Lose Control” and “Wassup.” He also delivered a performance of nostalgic songs including “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” and “Pass the Courvoiser Part 2” with guests Glorilla, Spliff Star and Joyner Lucas.
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Trilian Wood-Smith, Busta Rhymes, Mona Scott-Young and Ciara at the MTV VMAs in Elmont, New York on Sept. 7, 2025
Also on the carpet, the “I Know What You Want” artist explains how it feels to see his kids “growing and evolving into being a part of the business that I’m in and doing business with me.”
“We are negotiating contracts with each other and against each other. And we’re getting money together, and we’re planning the generational wealth with the family estate collectively,” adds Busta. “And I’m able to also do this with the same support system that I had with me from when they was born to now.”
Walking alongside the Grammy winner on the carpet was his son, Trillian Wood-Smith, a rapper in his own right. They’ve shared the stage together on multiple occasions, including at Missy Elliott‘s Out of This World Tour.
However, Busta doesn’t immediately out Trillian as his son when they perform together. “I make a conscious effort to not tell people he’s my child until after the work. So when we brought him on stage, we just brought him out as a dope, new, hot artist,” he says. “When he was finished, then I’m giving a speech, and I’m [saying] not only is he my business partner, he’s my son, he’s a college graduate. He’s a Kappa fraternity member. He also still has a regular job.”
He explains of Trillian, “He really, really is committed to the hard work that it takes to succeed. And it’s not being given to him. He gotta earn it. And that’s what he’s doing. And I’m so proud to see that as a dad.”
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Busta Rhymes (third from left) and family at the MTV VMAs in Elmont, New York on Sept. 7, 2025
Trillian, whose latest singles “Shadow” and “Show Me Your Love” are out now, says of his father’s Rock the Bells Visionary Award, “This is my first time at the VMAs, so to be here to celebrate with my father, to celebrate with the rest of my family, it’s an amazing feeling, and I’m just happy to be here.”
For Scott-Young, watching Busta receive the honor was a “full-circle moment.”
“He’s excited, he’s honored — really emotional,” she says. “He’s got his entire family with him, so for him it’s just an opportunity to just be grateful to the fans, to MTV and to everybody who supported him for so long.”
Read the original article on People