Last night (March 1), after being honored with the Powerhouse Award at the Billboard Women in Music ceremony, Latto delivered a message about the future of female rap. As she took the stage to accept her accolade from Chloe Bailey following her performance, Latto made it a point to thank her friend, whose song “For The Night” she was featured on. “Thank you, Chloe. Stream ‘For The Night,'” Latto told viewers after the pair embraced.
As she nervously gripped Bailey’s hand, Latto began her acceptance speech by thanking the annual event, mentioning the previous female rappers to take home the trophy. “Billboard, thank you so much… Powerhouse. Megan Thee Stallion won this award. Doja Cat won this award. It’s crazy because my peers, I’m fans of my peers, and now they’re my peers, so it’s like, oh, you know,” Latto said.
“[The] Powerhouse award is not just for me,” she continued. “It’s for my team. Teamwork makes the dream work. Shoutout to all [of] the inspiring women on my team… It’s so many incredible women on my team. Billboard, I can’t thank you enough.”
.@Latto gives a beautiful speech after she receives the Powerhouse Award at the #BBWomenInMusic pic.twitter.com/ccCdUlrIDa
— Latto’s Destiny 🍒 (@LattosDestiny) March 2, 2023
After revealing that she didn’t have a pre-written speech prepared, Latto showed love to her fan base, The Jackpots, before letting the world know about the future of women in hip hop. “All of the inspiring women who paved the way for me and all the women that there are to come, I’m grateful to be a part of this new wave of female rap. And, baby, we kicking down the door, and we ain’t taking no for an answer.”
Latto purred during her outro speech before asking fans to stream her new song “Lottery,” which she performed live that night. On Feb. 17, Latto released her latest single featuring Congolese-Canadian artist LU KALA. Rocco Did It Again! and Dr. Luke produced the accompanying music video. On the track, the 24-year-old Atlanta native clarified that she is the prize. Watch the official video of “Lottery” below: