Rich Homie Quan has been catching flack since he royally screwed up The Notorious B.I.G.’s verse on “Get Money” during Monday night’s VH1 Hip Hop Honors. [Note: VH1 and MTV News are both owned by Viacom.] Rather than duck and hide, though, Quan has admirably owned up to his mistake and issued a statement about the botched performance.

“I assure you that I never intended to disrespect Biggie Smalls. I have long respected his work and his contribution to the rap game,” he wrote on Instagram. “Once on stage I had some technical difficulties and must admit I got nervous. I will forever be sorry to New York, my fans, Biggie Small, Lil Kim, and all the Hip Hop community for my performance.”

Though Quan looked the part for the performance, strutting onstage wearing one of Biggie’s signature Coogi sweaters, he ended up misquoting a good chunk of the lyrics. He eventually stopped rapping entirely before coming back in with help from Lil’ Kim, one of the night’s honorees.

Soon after Quan posted his apology, Lil’ Kim responded with a supportive statement of her own, writing, “Spoken like a true giant. I loved you before and I'm gonna love you after Rich Homie.

“People make mistakes and things happen sometimes that we can't fix or undo,” she continued. “If you guys only knew the technical difficulties that went on behind the scenes. I would like to thank my friend @richhomiequan for coming through for me at the last minute. It's all love.”

Now let’s all put this behind us and leave Quan to listen to Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s Conspiracy 50 times through as penance.