Posted by Emily Exton on 10/13/2011 at 9:08 AM Videos

The Popdust Files: cyphers, hip-hop, hip-hop awards, interviews, rihanna, royce da 5'9"

Aside from welcoming back old friends we haven’t seen perform in awhile (DMX! T.I.!) the biggest takeaway from Tuesday night’s previously recorded BET Hip-Hop Awards was the series of rap cyphers. Specifically, one line: Hi Rihanna. Royce Da 5’9″ incorporated this potentially flirty statement during his round with Shady 2.0, stealing some of the attention from a group that included Yelawolf, Joe Budden, Crooked I, Joell Ortiz and Eminem, and ultimately making it a Trending Topic for the majority of Wednesday. With fans equipped with their own catchphrase for hump day, and kept busy hypothesizing what it all meant, Royce stopped by 106 & Park to discuss the reaction to the Shady cypher (“We’re getting a good response, everybody did their thing, we walked out proud”) and address the meaning behind his blatant shout-out to the singer, apparently the result of a recent meeting at the V Festival in Europe. “She came up and told me she liked one of my songs, so I just felt like, you tell me that again, we go together. It has to happen,” he explained.  “I express myself through my music, I just thought it was a line I was going to say, I didn’t know if she was going to hear it.” You’re not alone, Royce. Just be careful, RiRi has been known to break hearts.

So rather than “Hi Rihanna” being a secret code for a new musical project or a sarcastic dig reigniting a previous beef, Royce is just a kid with a crush. And isn’t this what you’re supposed to do with your fame: use media attention to your personal advantage to score beautiful women? Thought so. Rihanna has since tweeted at the singer, but we feel like the polite response here has to include a lap dance of some sort.

[RapRadar]