BET Awards celebrated its 20th anniversary, and what better way than to show the power and talent of black culture to the max.
The 20th edition of the BET Awards showcased performances from top artists that not only showed black excellence but also reflected on current issues affecting the black community and paid tribute to the ones gone.
Here are some of the most iconic performances and highlights from the award show
1. Burna wins Best International Act
Despite Burna Boy’s sometimes controversial takes, we can’t help but be proud of him for this win. This will be his second time taking the award home and this time he was able to receive the award himself. In his acceptance speech, he reminded everyone to never forget their roots in Africa and celebrate the motherland.
2. Beyonce wins BET Humanitarian Award
Queen Bee is a legend and rightly deserving. As Michelle Obama presented the award to the multiple award-winning artiste, she spoke on how Beyonce has been an inspiration to not just her, but to many others through her music and her dedicated actions to give back to her immediate community and beyond.
Beyonce, in her acceptance speech, dedicated the award to all the people who inspire her and keep pushing the black culture. A montage clip of her humanitarian works including her providing relief to her hometown, Houston, Texas, during this COVID-19 period was also shown.
3. Megan Thee Stallion’s Desert Performance
Megan Thee Stallion gave a mindblowing performance of her songs ‘Girls in the Hood’ and ‘Savage Remix ft Beyonce’. If we could watch the performance for the first time again, we’d do it all over again. Megan served us looks, dance and all-round hot girl magic.
4. Roddy Rich Redefining Hip-Hop Performances
Roddy got everything right with this performance at the BET Award. Starting off ‘High Fashion’ on a piano to a rock version of ‘The Box’, complete with the entire crew in the background all connected via Zoom. The colours and camera work was the icing on the cake. Don’t believe us? See for yourself.
5. John Legend’s Motivational Performance of ‘Never Break’
This performance gave us goosebumps. A song of hope and strength, John sings about facing the odds, and despite the challenges, it only serves to make us stronger. With his piano and a choir backing him up, John Legend uplifted all our spirits.
6. Chloe and Halle Serving Black Girl Goodness
The dynamite sisters gave us nothing short of perfection with the performance of their songs ‘Forgive Me’ and ‘Do It’ off their new album, ‘Ungodly Hour’. The two sisters showed us opposite sides of their personas as they opted for a dark theme for the ‘Forgive Me’ performance and a light theme for the ‘Do It’ performance. These girls are well on their way to greatness.
7. Amanda Handling the Show Like A Boss
Media personality and comedienne, Amanda Seales hosted the BET Awards and we must say she did a spectacular job. She was witty, did amazing skits and had us all drooling over her multiple wardrobe changes which were all beautiful. But what really wowed us was that she did all of these from her living room, with the help of a green screen. It’s hard enough performing in front of a crowd. She pulled it off with so much energy, you would never have guessed she was all alone in her living room.
8. Lil Wayne’s Tribute to Kobe
Over the past few months, the black entertainment industry has lost a lot of icons. Lil Wayne delivered a heartwarming tribute to the late basketballer Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in January. He performed a remix version of his song ‘Kobe Bryant’ in honour of the late superstar. It was a tender moment as clips of Kobe on the court were shown throughout the performance.
9. Alicia Keys Delivering A Tribute to Honour the Ones lost to Police Brutality
Alone on a street with her piano, Alicia Keys sang her song ‘Perfect Way To Die’ as a tribute to those who have lost their lives to police brutality and hate crimes. The Black Lives Matter message was a core element of this year’s BET Awards ceremony, as it spoke on the current situation of the black community in America. It was a truly moving performance.
10. The Moment Kierra Sheard and Her Mom Took Us To Church
The moment we saw Kierra Sheard and her mom, Karen Clark-Sheard, we knew it was about to get real. The mother and daughter sang us to the high heavens and delivered such a powerful, spirit-filled performance. With those powerful vocals and the choir backing them up, it was an energetic performance indeed.
If you want to experience these moments for yourself, you can catch the repeat of the BET Awards on BET Africa (DStv Channel 129) at 7 PM tonight.