Despite the fact my television set blanked out once last night during the second annual Black Entertainment Awards held at Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, watching the event was both entertaining and challenging.
Challenging because until last night my television was operating great, and I only have one TV set with digital cable. So I taped an extension cord to the side of my entertainment center to control the shortage.
Thankfully I fixed the problem in time to watch rapper Nelly open the show with a blast, performing the hit single “Hot in Herre,” from his new release “Nellyville.”
The BET awards was co-hosted by comedians Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer from the Steve Harvey Show, which airs on the WB network.
Ja Rule and Mary J. Blige highlighted the show with their performance of “Rainy Dayz.” The duo hit the stage with pure energy, vibing completely from each other.
Other celebrities included Tweet, Gerald Levert, Yolanda Adams and honorees Earth, Wind & Fire. A few artists gave performances for the fans on the red carpet, such as Cash Money and Truth Hurts.
Musical acts weren’t the only celebrities taking in the awards. The Toronto Raptors’ Vince Carter stopped for interviews on the red carpet and the Sacramento Kings’ Mike Bibby presented an award with Vivica Fox.
Some of the night’s big winners included India.Arie, Laila Ali, P. Diddy and Busta Rhymes and B2K. India.Arie won for Best Female R & B Artist, while Ali took home Best Female Athlete, beating Serena and Venus Williams. P. Diddy and Rhymes captured the award for Best Video with “Pass the Courvoisier,” and B2K took home the coveted BET’s Viewers’ Choice Award.
Will Smith ended the show with the presentation of BET’s Humanitarian Award to Mohammad Ali. Smith had earlier in the night won Best Actor for his portrayal of Ali.
But the true highlight of the show was tribute paid to the late R & B singer Aaliyah and TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, who each passed away earlier this year.
True to the award show recipe, the BET Awards also had controversy. According to an article on BET.com, Suge Knight and Snoop Dogg exchanged words. The argument created an intense atmosphere that almost carried into the live broadcast. It only cooled when the host asked the two to respect the event.
Everywhere Suge Knight appears, he brings trouble with him. His behavior is unacceptable and should not be tolerated under any circumstances. In reality he’s become a menace.
But the night ended on a good note with Ali.
Overall the show was entertaining and humorous with Harvey and Cedric guiding the event until the end.
BET has always been a place where R & B and hip-hop artists get the exposure needed to generate a huge fan base. But I also think the show could have displayed a more diverse selection of artists.
Maybe it’s time for BET to showcase a variety of ethnic artists.
To create a more diverse, entertaining event everyone has to reach beyond what’s expected. Sometimes you just have to call it like it is and keep it real.
On that note the BET awards rock on.
Tanee Elston can be reached at elstonta@msu.edu.
