Wale is revisiting one of the internet’s most uncomfortable viral moments of the year, but this time with perspective, humor, and a little hindsight.

During an appearance on “Club Shay Shay,” the DMV rapper sat down with host Shannon Sharpe to unpack his widely discussed run-in with Kai Cenat at the 2025 BET Awards, where the popular streamer initially failed to recognize him. 

What started as an awkward backstage exchange quickly snowballed into a meme, a debate, and a broader conversation about generational gaps and respect. 

The moment even inspired the “Watching Us” rapper to poke fun at himself online, jokingly turning the encounter into what appeared to be a Nintendo Switch endorsement. 

“You turned that into a Switch deal?” the podcaster joked.

“No — but if you like it, I love it,” the “Lotus Flower Bomb” artist laughed. “That was a recovery.”

The Hall of Famer didn’t shy away from empathizing. 

Drawing on his own experiences, Sharpe recalled moments when he found himself out of his element outside the sports world, noting that not recognizing someone isn’t always intentional—even when the internet makes it seem unforgivable.

“I’ve been doing the music business like this,” the veteran MC explained. 

“I don’t always remember people, and folks take offense to that. So I get it. A little bit.”

The hip-hop veteran noted that he and the streamer weren’t strangers. 

The two had crossed paths before, including a celebrity basketball game the year prior, but he brushed off the lapse with a shrug. 

Sharpe then suggested that maybe the rapper should’ve offered Cenat a bit of grace, pointing out the streamer is just 24 years old, which is a comment that immediately cracked Wale up.

“That’s the thing,” the Washington, D.C. native laughed. “Y’all acting like he was born two days ago.”

Still, the situation lingered longer than he expected. The “everything is a lot.” rapper admitted the moment weighed on him for days, especially as it played out across timelines and comment sections.

“I was upset for like five days straight,” he said.

Watching Cenat later speak publicly about mental health during a streaming awards show stirred mixed emotions. 

“I’m like, ‘Yes — mental health. You get it now,’” Wale joked. 

For the Grammy-nominated rapper, the frustration wasn’t rooted in ego but in context and contribution. 

He explained how strange it felt to spend more than a decade building within hip-hop, show up simply to support the culture, and then become the punchline of a viral moment stripped of nuance.

“Imagine giving your life to this game for 13 years,” he said, “and then you’re just there to support the culture… and suddenly the internet turns it into, ‘Kai Cenat didn’t know who you were. That was funny.’”

From his perspective, the way the moment was framed online made him appear unhinged rather than human. 

At one point, the “Conundrum” rapper even grabbed a couch cushion to exaggerate how people acted as if he’d exploded in anger.

“That’s what they acting like I did!” he laughed. “I was just saying, ‘Yo, you made me look crazy.’ I felt uncomfortable in the room.”

The chatter escalated quickly, and once the narrative shifted toward claims that he had “pressed” Cenat, Wale said he felt boxed in. 

“At that point, I was like, ‘Oh — so that means I gotta leave.’ I literally went back to my hotel for a couple days.”

The lyricist made it clear that he’s never operated from a place of entitlement. 

“I introduce myself at my meet-and-greets sometimes,” he said. “I don’t move like, ‘You have to know who I am.’”

Still, he admitted part of his discomfort stemmed from feeling like Cenat downplayed their prior interactions. He even joked that he could spot traces of his own influence in the streamer’s aesthetic.

“I’m not saying I influenced you,” he said, “but your stylist got me on their vision board.”

To him, it highlighted a generational disconnect and the responsibility that comes with visibility in today’s hip-hop ecosystem.

“He’s accepted a role, whether he planned on it or not, to be one of the voices of hip-hop,” the artist said. “Whether you like certain things or not, we still have to preserve the culture.”

Looking back, Wale admitted he might’ve handled parts of the situation differently, but he doesn’t regret wanting to address it head-on. “I wanted it to be a teachable moment,” he said.

See the full interview below.