Black excellence finds new heights
Performances by the likes of H.E.R., Janelle Monae, Yolanda Adams and Meek Mill electrified the annual awards ceremony
Jamie Foxx speaks at the BET Awards.
The 2018 BET Awards barely handed out many trophies with big stars like Cardi B, Drake and Kendrick Lamar absent, but the show included superior performances by rising singer H.E.R, rapper Meek Mill and gospel artist Yolanda Adams, who paid tribute to Anita Baker and nearly brought her to tears.
Baker, an eight-time Grammy winner who dominated the R&B charts from the early ’80s to mid-90s, earned the Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
The 60-year-old used her speech to encourage the artists in the room to keep music alive.
“I would ask that the music be allowed to play, that singers are allowed to sing, and rappers are allowed to rap, and poets are allowed to rhyme,” said Baker, who was also honoured by host Jamie Foxx, Ledisi and Marsha Ambrosius.
H.E.R., whose real name is Gabi Wilson, was impressive as she sang the R’n’B hit Focus, played the electric guitar like a rock star and sang softly during the sweet love song Best Part, where she was joined by Daniel Caesar.
Mill, who was released from prison in April, rapped the song Stay Woke on a stage transformed into a street corner, featuring hustlers, children and police officers. Mill also made a statement by wearing a hoodie featuring the face of XXXTentacion, the 20-year-old rappersinger who died after being shot last week. “We can’t get used to these types of things. We’re too used to young people getting killed,” Foxx said when speaking about XXXTentacion later in the show.
Snoop Dogg celebrated 25 years in music, performing the classic songs What’s My Name and Next Episode. The rapper also performed songs from his recently released gospel album, wearing a choir robe on a stage that looked like a church.
Childish Gambino, whose song and music video This Is America tackles racism and gun violence and became a viral hit last month, gave a short, impromptu performance of the song when Foxx brought him onstage.
Foxx kicked off the show rejoicing in the uber success of Black Panther, name-dropping the records the film has broken and even pulled Michael B. Jordan onstage to recite a line from the film. “We don’t need a president right now because we got our king,” Foxx said of T’Challa. “[Director] Ryan Coogler gave us our king.”
Foxx entered the arena with a stuffed black panther toy, which he handed to Jordan. The film won best movie. “The film is about our experiences being African-Americans and also captures the experiences of being African,” Coogler said. “It was about tapping into the voice that tells us to be proud of who we are.”
SZA, who was the most nominated woman at this year’s Grammys, won best new artist and said she’s “never won anything in front of other people.”
She dedicated the award to those “lost in the world,” saying: “Follow your passion ... believe in yourself.”