The Beyoncé Effect is real. Shaboozey followed fellow country star Tanner Adell with 2024 BET Awards‘ second performance highlighting the genre on Sunday (June 30).
His set featured dancers in a saloon line dancing as he performed his hit song “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — a flip of J-Kwon’s own 2004 hit “Tipsy.” Boozey’s version made history back in May when it hit No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, replacing Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em,” marking the first time two Black artists topped the Country charts in back-to-back weeks since 1958. The song also peaked at No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated May 11.
The highlight of the performance, though, was when he brought out J-Kwon to perform “Tipsy,” which understandably got a good rise out of the crowd.
Billboard spoke to the St. Louis rapper in April about how he felt about Shaboozey’s homage. “It really ain’t even paying homage; I got a crazy percentage” he said at the time, noting that he was “proud” of the country singer.
Getting J-Kwon’s blessing and validation was important to the Virgina native. “Feeling like you did the song you’re flipping justice and then getting that co-sign, not everybody gets that,” he told Billboard in May.
After being featured on Beyoncé’s country-leaning, genre-bending Cowboy Carter album twice, Shaboozey has found himself in the spotlight, and he’s taken advantage. “We were pretty prepared for this moment,” he previously told Billboard. Someone from Beyoncé’s team stumbled upon a live performance of the then unreleased song and reached out to his team. Shaboozey then decided to drop “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” and the rest is history.
Watch Shaboozey’s performance with J-Kwon at the 2024 BET Awards below:
