Victor Willis is shown in a promotional photo from the Village People’s “Cruisin’” album era. Willis, the group’s original lead singer and a co-writer of “Y.M.C.A.,” “Macho Man” and “In the Navy,” died Tuesday after a short but aggressive illness. He was 74.
Victor Willis, the original lead singer of the Village People and the voice behind some of disco’s most durable records, has died. He was 74.
Willis died Tuesday after a “short, but aggressive illness,” according to a statement posted to his official Facebook page by his wife, Karen Huff-Willis.
“It is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of my husband, Victor Willis,” the statement said. “The family requests privacy at this time of great loss.”
Willis was the visual and vocal center of the Village People, best known for performing as the group’s policeman and, later, in a naval officer’s uniform. But his place in music history is larger than the costume.
He was the group’s original lead singer and a key songwriter behind its biggest records, including “Y.M.C.A.,” “Macho Man” and “In the Navy.” Those songs turned the Village People into one of the defining acts of the disco era and kept Willis’ voice moving through weddings, sporting events, Pride celebrations, political rallies and dance floors for nearly 50 years.
For all the camp and theater built into the Village People’s image, Willis brought a real R&B foundation to the records. The son of a Baptist preacher, he developed his voice in church before moving through theater and eventually into the studio with French producer Jacques Morali.
That background mattered. Willis’ baritone gave the group’s biggest hits a force that could cut through the glitter. The records were fun, but they were not lightweight. The hooks worked because Willis delivered them like he believed every command.
His catalog kept him in the news long after disco’s commercial peak.
In the 2010s, Willis became a major figure in the fight over copyright termination rights, using provisions of U.S. copyright law to win back control of his share of Village People songs. The case was closely watched across the music business because it showed how legacy songwriters could challenge old publishing deals decades after signing them.
Willis also spent his later years protecting the meaning, ownership and use of the group’s music. He objected at times to the use of Village People songs in politics, later defended Donald Trump’s use of “Y.M.C.A.” and repeatedly pushed back against descriptions of the song as a gay anthem, even as the record remained deeply tied to LGBTQ culture in the public imagination.
The BET Awards gave her one anyway Sunday night, and by the time Hill finished closing the show with “Everything Is Everything,” the point had been made.
The 2026 BET Awards had a first-time host in Druski and a winners list stacked with current names. Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar, Kehlani, Leon Thomas, Doechii, SZA, Olivia Dean, Michael B. Jordan and A’ja Wilson were among the artists, actors and athletes taking home trophies.
But the show’s best moments came when BET stopped chasing the present and let Black music history breathe.
Hill received the inaugural Living Legend Icon Award. Janet Jackson surprised Teyana Taylor with the Icon of the Year Award. Clipse turned a comeback run into a three-win night. Sylvia Rhone used an industry honor to warn the music business about artificial intelligence. BET also paused for a tribute to D’Angelo, whose influence still shapes the way modern R&B moves.
That was the story of the night. The winners list belonged to 2026. The show’s soul came from the people who made that list possible.
Druski, 31, made history as the youngest host in BET Awards history, passing Kevin Hart, who hosted in 2011. He opened the broadcast by descending from the rafters in a harness while a choir performed Kirk Franklin’s “Revolution,” setting the tone for a night built around comedy, spectacle, church language and Black cultural memory.
The awards themselves delivered a few clean verdicts.
Clipse won Album of the Year for “Let God Sort Em Out,” Best Group and Best Collaboration for “Chains & Whips” featuring Kendrick Lamar. For Pusha T and Malice, it was more than a nostalgia win. It was a confirmation that the duo’s return landed as one of the year’s major hip-hop stories.
Kendrick Lamar won Best Male Hip-Hop Artist. Cardi B won Best Female Hip-Hop Artist. Kehlani won Best Female R&B/Pop Artist and Video of the Year for “Folded.” Leon Thomas won Best Male R&B/Pop Artist. Olivia Dean won Best New Artist. Doechii and SZA won the BET Her Award for “girl, get up.”
Then came Taylor’s moment.
Taylor had already won Best Actress, Video Director of the Year and the Fashion Vanguard Award before Jackson walked onstage to present her with the Icon of the Year Award.
Taylor looked stunned before she reached the microphone. By the time she hugged Jackson, the award had turned into something more personal than another industry handoff.
“There will be no me without you,” Taylor told Jackson.
Taylor has spent years moving between music, film, choreography, fashion, directing and performance, often without the industry knowing exactly where to place her. BET’s honor finally treated that range as the point. Hill’s honor carried a different kind of weight.
Introduced by Ice Cube, Hill received the first Living Legend Icon Award after a tribute that revisited the catalog that made her one of the most important artists of the last 30 years. SZA, Doechii, Lizzo, Queen Latifah, Common and Hill’s children Selah Marley and Zion Marley were among those involved in the salute.
Hill stood through the tribute smiling, singing along and applauding as other artists worked through pieces of her legacy. Then she stepped into it herself.
After accepting the award, Hill performed “Ex-Factor.” Later, she closed the show with “Everything Is Everything.”
“I fight for y’all,” Hill said.
BET also honored Rhone with the Ultimate Icon Award, recognizing one of the most important executives in modern Black music.
Presented by Kelly Rowland, the award celebrated Rhone’s barrier-breaking career, including her place as the first Black woman to lead a major record company owned by a Fortune 500 corporation. A video tribute connected her work to artists including Tracy Chapman, Brandy, Erykah Badu, Lil Wayne, Kid Cudi, Future, Travis Scott and Tyler, the Creator.
Rhone did not use the moment just to look back.
“We make the algorithm,” Rhone said. “The algorithm doesn’t make us.”
The same point ran through BET’s tribute to D’Angelo.
His children helped open the segment before Ari Lennox, BJ the Chicago Kid, Durand Bernarr, George Clinton and RAYE honored his music. It was a reminder that D’Angelo’s reach is still easy to hear in modern soul — in the space, the swing, the church, the funk and the refusal to rush the feeling.
By the end of the night, the BET Awards had done what award shows rarely do well.
It named the current winners without pretending the current moment created itself.
2026 BET Awards
Full winners list
Clipse, Kehlani, Leon Thomas, Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar and Teyana Taylor were among the major winners during a night that also honored Ms. Lauryn Hill and Sylvia Rhone.
Music
Album of the Year
“Let God Sort Em Out,” Clipse
Best Group
Clipse
Best Collaboration
“Chains & Whips,” Clipse feat. Kendrick Lamar
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
Kehlani
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist
Leon Thomas
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist
Cardi B
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist
Kendrick Lamar
Best New Artist
Olivia Dean
Video of the Year
“Folded,” Kehlani
Video Director of the Year
Teyana “Spike-Tey” Taylor
BET Her Award
“girl, get up.,” Doechii feat. SZA
Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award
“Headphones,” Lecrae, Killer Mike and T.I.
Film, TV and culture
Best Actress
Teyana Taylor
Best Actor
Michael B. Jordan
Best Movie
“Sinners”
YoungStars Award
Jazzy’s World TV
Fashion Vanguard Award
Teyana Taylor
Pulse Award
Druski
Sports
Sportswoman of the Year AWARD
A’ja Wilson, basketball
Sportsman of the Year AWARD
Jalen Brunson, basketball
Special honors
Living Legend Icon Award
Ms. Lauryn Hill
Icon of the Year Award
Teyana Taylor
Ultimate Icon Award
Sylvia Rhone
Note: BET’s nominees page still listed Viewers’ Choice Award voting and did not mark a Viewers’ Choice winner at the time this story was checked.
Erykah Badu’s “LIVE” tour with The Alchemist and De La Soul pairs neo-soul, hip-hop history and underground production on a September run scheduled to open Sept. 10, 2026, in Highland Park, Ill., and close Sept. 29 in Los Angeles. (Live Nation/313 Presents)
After spending last year revisiting "Mama’s Gun," Erykah Badu has announced "Live: A September Tour," a run that pairs her with De La Soul and The Alchemist — a bill that makes more sense the longer you sit with it.
The title may tug at anyone who remembers Badu’s 1997 live album, "Live," the record that gave "Tyrone" its permanent place in the R&B conversation. But this is not being billed as an anniversary tour. It reads more like Badu using the stage as the center of the story again.
That matters with this lineup.
The Alchemist is not just a left-field name on the poster. Badu and the Beverly Hills producer spent 2025 building toward "Abi & Alan," a collaborative project that has already produced the June 2025 single "Next to You" and remains a vital part of their shared orbit. His presence keeps this from becoming a clean nostalgia package. He brings the dust, the tension, and the kind of loops that make a room lean forward.
De La Soul brings a different kind of weight. The Long Island group is no longer just a beloved catalog act finally freed from streaming limbo. Last year’s "Cabin in the Sky" gave De La Soul a new chapter after the 2023 death of co-founder David "Trugoy the Dove" Jolicoeur, carrying grief, memory, and joy without turning the group into a museum piece.
That is where the bill gets interesting.
Badu’s catalog has always lived between soul, hip-hop, jazz, church smoke, and side-eye. "On & On" introduced her in 1997 as something more complicated than a standard R&B star. "Bag Lady" turned emotional baggage into a hook. "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop)" made the connection plain for anybody who somehow missed it.
De La Soul helped build a version of rap that could be funny, strange, smart, wounded, soulful, and still fully hip-hop. The Alchemist has spent the modern era proving that a beat can still sound dangerous without raising its voice.
So no, this is not a random throwback package.
It is Badu, De La Soul, and The Alchemist standing in the same old conversation from three different corners: the singer who never separated soul from rap, the rap group that never separated jokes from depth, and the producer who still knows what to do with a dirty record.
The tour includes a Friday, Sept. 11, stop at the Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights, Michigan, according to venue promoter 313 Presents. The show begins at 8 p.m., with tickets scheduled to go on sale Friday, June 26, at 10 a.m. local time through BaduWorld.market.
Badu’s official calendar lists the run opening Sept. 10 at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois. It continues through Toronto; Cleveland; Uncasville, Connecticut; Forest Hills, New York; Washington; Indianapolis; Denver; San Diego; Berkeley, California; Highland, California; and Los Angeles.
