On Tuesday, the Internet’s biggest event happened…on the Internet: the 24th Annual Webby Awards. Dubbed “Webbys From Home” (which happens to formulate an appropriate acronym, WFH) due to our current self-isolation situation, each winner sent in videos of their acceptance speeches.
The biggest winner of the night was Derrick Jones, known as DJ D-Nice, who won the 2020 Webby Artist of the Year Award. Ever the example of hard work and dedication, D-Nice also hosted the Webbys afterparty via his Instagram Live account following the ceremony.
“With his Club Quarantine parties, Derrick has created a space where folks can come together from living rooms and basements all over the world to let off some steam, dance it out, and just enjoy each other’s company,” Forever FLOTUS Michelle Obama said of D-Nice when presenting him the award.
“Partying with a purpose…his turntables have provided a soundtrack for so many of our volunteers helping us reach more than 400,000 eligible voters throughout our recent couch parties. I know we’re all looking forward to D-Nice bringing down the house when we can all be together again.”
As longtime watchers may know, Webby Awards tradition is that the winners give only 5-word acceptance speeches. So, when D-Nice accepted his, he hilariously said, “So, this isn’t a prank?”
Speaking of iconic virtual events, Verzuz got some love, too!
“Timbaland and Swizz Beatz haven’t just created some of the most bangin’ music of our times, they’ve also spent their careers uplifting other artists, which is why they created Verzuz,” Jill Scott said of the Verzuz duo when she presented them with the 2020 Crush the Internet Award.
Timbaland’s acceptance speech was, “Verzuz, buy for the artists” and Swizz’s was, “Find in self, love for others.”
Other black-ass famous presenters included Questlove, Desus & Mero, Moses Sumney, Isaiah Thomas and more.
Do you smell that? Oh, that’s the smell of me gassing up The Root Video Team and G/O Media for our Webby Award win! Senior Video Producer Ashley Velez and Video Producer Jessica Moulite scored the spiral statuette for our well-received video series exploring the many streets named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. across the nation, A King’s Place. Musician and comedian Reggie Watts presented the award under the Public Service & Activism in Video Series and Channels category to the G/O gang. Moulite accepted the award on behalf of G/O Media with her very apt 5-word speech: “Respect black media organizations. Period.”
Congrats to the team! *airhorn*
To check out the complete list of winners for the 2020 Webby Awards, visit webbyawards.com.