How the BET Awards managed to attract star power this year

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The BET Awards have been dismal for years now. This time around, however, they managed to attract actual talent.

Star power was the order of the day from host Kevin Hart to some of the winners on the night.

ALL THE MAJOR WINNERS AT THE BET AWARDS

It should be noted that even though it was great to see people like Tyler Perry presenting an award, Mariah Carey was also in attendance, and they even had Snoop Dogg in the front row. Still, all those people had ulterior motives for being there. Mariah Carey is celebrating 20 years of the release of her iconic opus, The Emancipation of Mimi. She also debuted a new song at the BET Awards.

Perry is hawking the release of his latest film, Straw, and Snoop Dogg needs the visibility as he has a decent album out now. Nobody is fooled; it is all just advertising. Snoop, Carey and Jamie Foxx all received awards for being icons and pivotal to the culture.

A-LIST WINNERS AT THE BET AWARDS

The big winner on the night is a man who owes most of his recent success to Canada’s Drake. Kendrick Lamar walked away with more awards than he deserves, most of which were centred around the flaccid offering GNX. Best Male Hip Hop Artist, Album of the Year, Video of the Year, and even Best Collaboration of the Year all went to the pride and joy of Compton.

Future and Metro Boomin won Best Group for their efforts last year. Florida’s Doechii either inflamed or put the industry plant rumours to rest when she scooped the award for Best Female Rap Artist. She used her acceptance speech to shine a light on the recent protests around immigration and deportation happening in Los Angeles.

STREAMERS STEAL THE SPOTLIGHT

Comedian and actor Kevin Hart oversaw the responsibilities of hosting. He made fun of everyone, from lightly insisting that after parties would not be happening, as things tend to get slippery at those. A clear reference to rapper P. Diddy and the abundance of baby oil found in his home when Homeland Security raided one of his properties.

Hart has enjoyed sharing the spotlight with streamers Kai Cenat and Druski. This has kept Hart relevant, and the three together are always worth a watch. Seeing behind-the-scenes footage on Cenat’s stream was refreshing as all those moments happened in real time, as it were.

THE 106 AND PARK ERA TRIBUTE

Fans of music channels, back in the days when they played music, will recall a once immensely popular show called Total Request Live (TRL) on MTV. BET’s urban response to that was a similar show called 106 and Park.

Rapper Bow Wow was a large part of this. Naturally he took to the stage and let loose with some of his more memorable hits from that moment in time.

SOUTH AFRICA WAS WELL REPRESENTED AT THE BET AWARDS

Amapiano was not left out of this celebration of Black artistry. South African DJ duo TxC won Best New International Act, ensuring the amapiano fraternity was not ignored. The BET Awards has been steadily foregrounding South African music in recent years, which our artists surely appreciate.

THE BEST BET AWARDS IN RECENT TIMES

Everything from the performances to the slick delivery of the overall production was infinitely better than it has been in recent years. The star power they managed to get into the Peacock Theatre was more impressive than it was last year or the year before. Everything from the performances and the acceptance speeches was a pleasure to take in.

This might be because of the 25-year milestone reached by the awards this year, or that BET, as a network, has now been around for 45 years. We can only hope the BET Hip Hop Awards will be as good.