RECAP: BET Awards 2015 (VIDEO) – blogged by @niksofly

Hosted by “Blackish” stars, Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross, the 14^th annual BET Awards were held in Los Angeles , California at the Microsoft Theatre.  Complete with Diddy’s epic fall, this year’s ceremony etched its way into the Hall of Fame with dope performances (well most of them) and eye-catching moments that will keep social media busy until the next event (we know this generation’s attention span is that of a two year old suffering from ADD).

First things first,  Beyonce reigned supreme with Video of The Year as well as best Female R&B/Pop Artist.  The Beyonce brand also snagged Video Director of the Year. [Can we just save the formalities and over night the awards to Bey? It’ll add extra time to the performances.]  Nicki Minaj won a couple including Best Female Hip-Hop Artist and the coveted, Coca-Cola’s  Viewers’ Choice.  We can excuse Nicki’s brief lapse in memory because well, when you win a bunch of awards it’s rather hard to keep up with which one you are accepting.  K.Dot snagged  Best Male Hip-Hop artist and of course Best Collaboration went to John Legend and Common for “Glory”.  Breezy took home best Male R&B/Pop Artist as well as the Fandemonium Award.  The Weeknd “Earned It” when he scored the Centric Award. Janet was honored with the befitting, Ultimate Icon Award and we were reminded why Smokey Robinson was a legend as he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Now that the winners are out of the way, let’s  get into these performances. Kendrick Lamar opened the show with an electrifying performance of “Alright”. K. Dot’s passion is so visible. It resonates in his content and translates through his performances. I can honestly say I look forward to seeing him.  On another note, can we get the show tracks please? Well except for Alicia Keys. I love Keys for her writing and piano skills, but I have never thought she was a vocalist. The Whitney Houston funeral confirmed it. Sunday night was just the reminder.  I was with The Weeknd as he performed  “The Hills” , but Keys lost me on the “Earned It” performance. But back to these show tracks…can we get some?  Not having them flaw great performances. I thoroughly enjoyed Breezy’s  and Omarion’s set although the stacking of live vocals  over the complete tracks didn’t align well at times. The dancing made up for it.  Ms. Janelle Monae’s “Yoga” performance was one of my faves. Adding Jidenna’s “Classic Man” was perfect. I truly like how the opportunity was taken to redefine the image of classic. Speaking on classic, Smokey Robinson’s tribute was also phenomenal.  We would leave it to Diddy to show out with his set commemorating the 20^th Anniversary of Bad Boy. He was literally knocked off of his feet, but like a true vet, Diddy did not miss a beat. His rebound made the accident look like it was apart of the show. Can we please get a Bad Boy Reunion Tour, pleeease?  He brought out Mr. Harlem World and Lil Kim not to mention 112 and Faith.  2/3 of the Lox ( Jada Kiss and Sheek Louch) rocked the mic. [I’m saying, Diddy put that tour together and I’ll go get that slice of cheesecake for you!] The jury is still out on that Empire performance, but I will say the Omeeka’s performance was cuuuute. While I’m on cute, I totally loved Big Sean’s set.  I was inspired, humbled and arrogant all in under ten minutes. And let me not get started on the Janet tribute. Ciara did her thing! On an unrelated, related note, I love Ci Ci . She dances her azz off. Patti Labelle brought the house down and Fetty Wap was Fetty ( don’t ask me what that means, ok? OK!)

I guess I’ll cut it right here because I can go on and on and I’m lowkey exhausted from reliving that Diddy set.  I get bored easily and it says a lot when I watch something from beginning to end.  This was a pretty legit show all things considered.  The performances were cool. My only  request is that the organizers move up the gospel performance to maybe pre “eat the booty like groceries”.  It doesn’t flow right. It’s almost like wearing Saturday night’s club attire to Sunday morning service. Buuuuut I digress.

Anyhoo Check out Diddy’s Performance and more below…

-Niko Rose