The BET Awards are always unusually long for an awards show that isn’t an Oscars or a Grammys — the network traditionally blocks out three-and-a-half hours on the last Sunday night in June — and most years it delivers with either a stacked talent lineup and/or a series of water-cooler moments. But whether due to the ongoing writers’ strike — which got at least two statements of support from people on the BET stage — or the fact that many artists, including Sunday’s big winners, SZA and Beyonce, are on the road, making up for touring time lost to the pandemic, there was little of either in evidence on Sunday night, in a show that, without naming names, was dominated by mediocre talent, over-long speeches or paid programming of some kind. It’s a safe bet that even the biggest fans of hip-hop and R&B had no idea who was on stage for a large percentage of the time. (The full winners list appears below
ALBUM OF THE YEAR (TIE) AND THE WINNERS
SOS – SZA, RENAISSANCE – Beyoncé, BEST COLLABORATION WAIT FOR U – Future feat. Drake & Tems, BEST FEMALE R&B/POP ARTIST SZA. BEST NEW ARTIST Coco Jones, BEST GROUP Drake x 21 Savage,
BEST FEMALE HIP HOP ARTIST, Latto, BEST MALE HIP HOP ARTIST Kendrick Lamar, DR. BOBBY JONES BEST GOSPEL/INSPIRATIONAL AWARD Bless Me – Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin, BET HER AWARD Break My Soul – Beyoncé, VIDEO OF THE YEAR Kill Bill – SZA, VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR Teyana “Spike Tey” Taylor, BEST MOVIE Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, BEST ACTRESS Angela Bassett, BEST ACTOR Damson Idris, YOUNGSTARS AWARD Marsai Martin, SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR Angel Reese, SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR Jalen Hurts, VIEWER’S CHOICE AWARD Break My Soul – Beyoncé, BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT Burna Boy
None of which is to say there weren’t great moments: The two surviving members of Migos, Quavo and Offset, staged a surprise reunion in tribute to their late bandmate Takeoff, who was murdered last fall. There were strong performances from Latto, Davido, Coco Jones and especially Ice Spice, who played a medley of her hits on a dazzling set themed on her hometown of the Bronx, complete with a small park and a basketball court (she began the performance sitting on top of the hoop, which lowered to the floor), a bodega (with her DJ behind the cash register) and a staircase leading up to a mock-elevated subway platform, complete with 4-train signs.
And Busta Rhymes, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award, delivered a long but deeply moving speech about both his own career and the importance of having mentors — he recalled sitting with legends like Public Enemy’s Chuck D., and shouted out executives Sylvia Rhone, Mona Scott Young and the late Chris Lighty for their guidance; the tribute video to him featured Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Diddy, Chuck D., Missy Elliott, Swizz Beatz and Pharrell, the latter of whom compared Busta’s unique bullhorn rapping style to that of a jazz trumpeter or saxophonist.
But although excuses can be made for a long Lifetime Achievement segment — and combined with his long performance, Busta’s might have topped 30 minutes — there were just way too many overlong speeches and hip-hop 50th anniversary tributes without the A-list talent to justify their length.
