Kai Cenat, as usual, brought his beloved “chat” along for his night out at the 2025 BET Awards, which included his awkward run-in with Wale, as the streamer didn’t recognize the DMV-bred MC. Later that evening, the “Blanco” rapper approached the streaming sensation for the likely unintended swipe.
Cenat, 23, first crossed paths with the rapper born Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, 40, in a parking garage servicing the Peacock Theater event, with Wale walking by playing a game on his Nintendo Switch when Cenat greeted him and asked what game he was playing. Wale then kept it pushing as Kai hopped into his vehicle, revealing to his chat that he had no idea who the gentleman was, as he was apparently just being friendly.
After fans informed the streamer of who Wale was, he proceeded to mispronounce the rapper’s stage name as “Wally” (wah-lee).
Wale at the BET Awards 2025 held at the Peacock Theater on June 09, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)
“Wally, oh my god, that was somebody crazy, the whole chat knows him,” he told his crew, with one of his associates correcting Cenat’s pronunciation.
“What he do?” Cenat asked, with his friend answering, “Rap,” name dropping one of Wale’s biggest hits, “Lotus Flower Bomb,” hoping to jog Kai’s memory to no avail.
With Kai live-streaming the moment, it immediately went viral, resulting in Wale later approaching the Streamer University creator while he attempted to interview BET Awards Honoree Snoop Dogg.
“That sh*t making me look crazy now, just so you know,” the “No Hands” spitter told Kai. “That’s making me look crazy, the exchange we had in the hallway. I mean, they running with it, but we’ll talk later.” Check out the full interaction below.
Some observers chopped it up to Kai simply being too young to know Wale’s best work, with one fan offering via X, “Kai is 23, Wale is 40 lmao. Can’t be hurt that a mf don’t know who you are. Everybody didn’t grow up being a ‘hip hop’ fan.” Another fan wrote, “Diced Pineapples came out when Kai was 11, he just might not know you g.”
Others, however, don’t accept that excuse, as Kai is well versed in artists of Wale’s same class, such as Drake.
“Kai Cenat really just a jit cus you couldn’t have grown up on Drake and J. Cole and not know who Wale was,” offered one observer, with another calling Kai’s Hip-Hop credentials into question.
“I’m not the biggest Wale fan. However I do feel like ‘How the hell you in this rap culture sh*t And you don’t know who wale is at all’ You uncultured as a mf lol.”
Ironically, Wale’s recent visit to The Joe Budden Podcast found him discussing the lack of Hip-Hop knowledge held by popular streamers within the culture. Check out the pod episode below.
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