The 2017 Bet Awards put on a memorable classic on June 25th fitting as a family reunion for the culture. Huge names in black entertainment such as Bruno Mars, Future, Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown, and Migos delivered infectious performances. New moments were created with classic reunions, cool tributes and eloquent speeches. Beyoncé, Bruno, chance the rapper and Migos won the most honors and Twitter was ablaze for the BET spectacle.
Beginning show segments
Bruno Mars opened the show with an explosive, jazzy performance of “Perm” with funky energy of a true showman.
Leslie Jones was the host joking about her age and makes little fun of rappers’ names. The first award of the night for Best Group and Best Collaboration went to Migos. French Montana performed “Unforgettable” with Swae Lee.
Solange won the Centric Award for "Cranes in the Sky", while Best Gospel Inspirational went to Lecrae for “Can’t Stop Me Now.” Post Malone performed "Congratulations" with Quavo in solo mode and then regrouped with the rest of Migos for frosty/blazing renditions of "T-Shirt" and "Bad & Boujee". Trey Songz gave a sultry and ferocious performance of “Animal” and "Nobody Else But You." Chris Brown sang Privacy and “Party” with Gucci Mane.
Chance becomes Humanitarian and Bruno wins big
Chance the Rapper won Best New Artist and he also received the Humanitarian Award for his donation efforts to Chicago public schools. He’s the youngest recipient of the honor at 24 years old. The icing on his honor was Michelle Obama praising Chance’s work. Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Mary J.
Blige sang “Set Me Free” and “Love Yourself (Remix) with A$AP Rocky.
Bruno Mars won Best Male R&B/Pop Artist and shared a tie victory for Video of the Year for "24K Magic" along with Beyoncé for "Sorry". BigSean lit the stage up with a medley of hits from the I Decided album. New "American Teen" beginner Khalid performed his smash hit Location.
Afterwards, the Young Stars Award recipient was Yara Shahidi.
The BET Awards is well known for nostalgic entertainment as well, as 90s R&B group Xscape returned to the stage to sing their old vibe hits “Understanding,” “Just Kick It” and “Who Can I Run To.”Xscape was apart for nearly 18 years yet their raw vocals moved the crowd flawlessly. Future performed his street banger Mask Off with a surprise appearance of Kendrick Lamar’s remix verse.
New Edition turns immortal while Remy Ma breaks the streak
There were short tributes to Chuck Berry and George Michael, two all-time greats that the world lost last year. This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award went to R&B boy band New Edition. All three generations of the New Edition movie/series performed their records with the eldest legends singing last.
An East Coast hip-hop legend, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, was mourned with Lil Kim and his teammate Havoc. Kendrick Lamar won for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist over stiff competition. Beyoncé was not in attendance because of her recently conceived twins but the musical twins she discovered, Halle x Chloe, accepted the Viewers’ Choice award on her behalf.
After a little technical difficulty, SZA made her debut BET performance with Love Galore. Probably the most anticipated award of the night, Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, went to Remy Ma. Nicki Minaj has won this accolade seven years straight but her rival Remy Ma has broken the streak, firing shots in her acceptance speech. Finally, the show concluded with DJ Khaled, Chance, Lil Wayne and Quavo performing the summer smash “I’m the One.”
