Rick Ross came back to the BET Awards stage on Sunday, June 28, joining French Montana and Max B midway through their performance of “Minks In Miami” at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. It was Ross’s fifth time performing at the show, and his first BET Awards appearance in more than a decade.
The moment landed inside a set built around “Ever Since U Left Me (I Went Deaf),” the lead single from French Montana and Max B’s Coke Wave 3.5: Narcos mixtape. The song had already topped Billboard’s US Rhythmic Airplay chart, and its reach was widened by a prominent sample of KC and the Sunshine Band’s “That’s the Way (I Like It)” plus remixes with Ty Dolla Sign and Remy Ma.
For Ross, the return carried extra weight because the last time he performed at the BET Awards was in 2012. That same year marked his last lead-artist nomination, while his most recent BET Award nomination came in 2015 for Best Collaboration for “New Flame” featuring Usher. This year’s appearance also arrived during the 20th anniversary of Port of Miami, the debut album he released in August 2006, which opened at Number One on the Billboard 200.
That is what made the cameo feel bigger than a guest turn. Ross was not simply dropping in on a hit record; he was stepping back onto one of the few televised stages that had been missing him for years, while French Montana and Max B used a Best Group-nominated performance to underline how far “Ever Since U Left Me (I Went Deaf)” had traveled.
What comes next is less about the one song than about whether Ross’s BET Awards return becomes a one-night nod to the anniversary of Port of Miami or the start of a new run on a stage he had not used since 2012.
