The 2022 BET Awards took place on Sunday, June 26TH at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Dubbed “Culture’s Biggest Night”, the event did not disappoint as some of the world’s greatest melanated icons showed up and showed out from the red carpet to the stage.
The winners of the night’s awards were as follows:
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
Winner: Jazmine Sullivan
Nominees:
Doja Cat
Mary J. Blige
Ari Lennox
H.E.R.
Chlöe
Summer Walker
Album of the Year
Winner: An Evening With Silk Sonic, Silk Sonic
Nominees:
Certified Lover Boy, Drake
Donda, Kanye West
Planet Her, Doja Cat
Heaux Tales, Mo’ Tales, Jazmine Sullivan
Back of My Mind, H.E.R.
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist
Winner: The Weeknd
Nominees:
Yung Bleu
Blxst
Wizkid
Lucky Daye
Chris Brown
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist
Winner: Kendrick Lamar
Nominees:
Drake
J.Cole
Lil Baby
Kanye West
Future
Jack Harlow
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist
Winner: Megan Thee Stallion
Nominees:
Nicki Minaj
Cardi B
Doja Cat
Saweetie
Latto
Best Collaboration
Winner: Essence, Wizkid Ft. Justin Bieber, Tems
Nominees:
Kiss Me More, Doja Cat Feat. SZA
Every Chance I Get, DJ Khaled Feat. Lil Baby & Lil Durk
Whole Lotta Money (Remix), Bia Feat. Nicki Minaj
Family Ties, Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar
Way 2 Sexy, Drake Feat. Future & Young Thug
Best New Artist
Winner: Latto
Nominees:
Tems
Muni Long
Yung Bleu
Benny the Butcher
Baby Keem
Best Group
Winner: Silk Sonic
Nominees:
City Girls
Young Dolph & Key Glock
Migos
Chlöe X Halle
Lil Baby & Lil Durk
Video Director of the Year
Winner: Anderson .Paak aka Director .Paak.
Nominees:
Missy Elliott
Benny Boom
Beyoncé & Dikayl Rimmasch
Director X
Hype Williams
Video of the Year
Winner: Family Ties, Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar
Nominees:
Pressure, Ari Lennox
Have Mercy, Chlöe
Way 2 Sexy, Drake Feat. Future & Young Thug
Kiss Me More, Doja Cat Feat. SZA
Smokin Out the Window, Silk Sonic
Best Gospel/Inspirational Award
Nominees:
Grace, Kelly Price
Hallelujah, Fred Hammond
Jireh, Election Worship & Maverick City Music
All in Your Hands, Marvin Sapp
Come to Life, Kanye West
The audience and viewers were treated to an array of performances some unanticipated, others expected yet all memorable and wildly entertaining. The night was wrought with some surprise appearances from artists like Brandy, who popped into Jack Harlow’s set rapping and giving all female MCs a run for their money. This was especially heartwarming given how Jack Harlow had mistakenly offended Brandy and her fan base a few weeks before by not knowing who she was and referring to her as “Ray J’s sister” when we all know it’s rather the opposite: Ray J is Brandy’s brother and Brandy is BRANDY. Speaking of Ray J, he had a viral moment himself when he was caught red handed chowing down on some ramen noodles. The moment has now earned him an endorsement with the company that makes the noodles he couldn’t wait till after the show to devour. In the end, 24 year old Harlow certainly realized he’d erred and decided to honor the living legend by including her in his set where she showed off her rapping chops; proving that she is not only the vocal Bible but a force to reckon with in Hip Hop as well. Should we look forward to a rap album from Brandy soon? Time will tell, but currently all signs seem to point to YES!
Another moment that shook up the entire auditorium and made the audience go crazy was when Latto honored another living Legend, Mariah Carey, when she brought her out on stage to perform her hit “Fantasy” as a remix to Latto’s sample of the latter “Big Energy”. The crowd erupted in cheer as we all watched in awe not believing we were getting to see Mariah live. It is said that Mariah leaves the house for no one so to get to see her is an honor for any audience. Her vocals were immaculate as well and the auditorium erupted in confetti in honor of the legend. This was definitely the highlight of the night for me as far as performances. It began with Latto getting the audience on her feet with her trendy tunes as she held her own and proved that she is not just a rapper but an entertainer as well.
Other highlights of the night included a killer performance by newcomer Doechii who proved she is certainly one to watch. Billy Porter stormed the stage with a fabulous display in honor of Pride Month, treating us to ball room culture as LGBTQIA icons- including stunning Pose Co- Star Dominque Jackson- rocked the runway as the audience held up score placards of all nines and tens across the board. Another great performance was delivered by Muni Long with immaculate vocals and breathtaking feather choreography that shocked us all as we initially thought she was wearing a giant pink feather skirt only for it to start moving at some point and breakout into what looked like dozens of dancers that made a beautiful accompaniment to her hit song Hrs & Hrs. In a BET first, we also got our first ever Afro Beats Live performance when Fireboy performed DML and had the crowd singing the popular social media tune, “Peru Para”.
Finally, we could not possibly highlight the night’s performances without bringing up the epic tribute to Sean “Diddy” Combs. The rapper, media mogul and entrepreneur, 52, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 BET Awards. He treated us to several star-studded performances by Bad Boy artists, past and present, that included Mary J Blige, Jodeci, Lil Kim, Shyne, Jadakiss and Sheek, Busta Rymes and Faith Evans. Kanye West also made an incognito appearance in honor of Diddy announcing that he had plans to declare himself “legally dead for a year” but had broken his Hiatus for the chance to present Diddy with his Lifetime Achievement Award.
In a touching moment, Diddy got personal and gave a special shout out to his late ex, Kim Porter. He played a video clip of her telling him, “ Congratulations, Puffy, you’re a star. I can’t tell you how proud I am. From Harlem to Hollywood, that’s a long journey … You work so hard, and I’ve watched you, your blood sweat and tears, and you’ve arrived”. He also featured adorable home videos of their children King Combs, 24, and the twins Jessie James Combs and D’Lila Star Combs, 15 in the video Montage.
In an awkward twist, however, Diddy thought it appropriate to thank his, now married with 2 children, ex-girlfriend of 10 years, Cassie, in his award speech for “holding me down in the dark times, love”, all while his rumored current girlfriend, Yung Miami, was in the audience holding up a sign that read “Go Papi” in support of her alleged man. He also thanked a several other people that he said were there for him over the years, with no mention of Yung Miami. Perhaps he plans to do so at the next Milestone tribute.
All in all, this year’s BET Awards gave us countless moments to leave us milling over excitedly. As we wait for next year’s show, however, below is a compilation of all the performances that rocked “Culture’s Biggest Night” this year to hold you over till them.
Written By: Rachel Mbuki
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