BET celebrated 40 years on air Sunday night with it’s 20th annual BET Awards show. There have been many who have given up on the BET Awards, but if there was any year to watch and tune back in, this was the year.
The show began with a remix of Fight the Power with Public Enemy, Nas, Rhapsody and Black Thought among others. The energy that song started the show off was the perfect form of energy and skill meshed into a moment for a the times we are in right now in America as Black people. From there, the energy just kept going with the host Amanda Seales in a virtual setting since we are still in the Covid-19 pandemic. The loss of an in-person setting opened up another door for a walk through time for the BET Awards as Amanda virtually visited the sets of 106 & Park, Teen Summit, Rap City, and other classic BET music video TV shows that we all loved.
As far as the performances, they seemed to flow effortlessly as they were creative, innovative and powerful. Great acts that hit the stage on this year’s awards included Public Enemy with Nas, Rhapsody, and YG. Roddy Rich and Da Baby, Masego, Chloe and Halle and John Legend. The performance that stuck out most to me was Alicia Keys performing “Perfect Way To Die”, a song describing current events in America. The performance concluded with the names of many Black lives that we have lost to police brutality and racism on the concrete below her.
Alicia’s powerful performance was great and memorable, but you cannot go without mentioning Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, who was recognized with the BET Humanitarian Award and was introduced by former First Lady Michelle Obama. Beyoncé, whether folks want to recognize it or not, has done a lot for the Black community whether in the public eye or silently. It was great to see her get her roses for her humanitarian work while she is still here with us.
In addition to Seales hosting and the amazing performances, the commercials were right on time. Many of them mentioned Black Lives Matter, the need for us to not forget and to continue to keep pushing for equality in America and the fight for justice.
The performances, the creativity of the artists, Seales’ hosting and the messages throughout, the show took on a different tone than past years and it ended on a note that it needed to. According to Seales, we need to continue to look out for each other, protest, and fight. Like a few of the presenters, Seales reminded us that Breonna Taylor’s killers are still free and to continue to fight for the arrests of those men who killed her while serving a no-knock warrant in Louisville, Kentucky.
Overall, the awards show was a success and very enjoyable to watch from beginning to end. If you watched the BET Awards, what did you think of them and what was your most enjoyable moment?
Queen Media Collective 