Diddy fell during an all-star performance Sunday night at the BET Awards. The entertainer was on stage with Lil Kim and Faith Evans giving a performance in honor of Bad Boy Records’ 20th anniversary. The song was anticipated to be one of the highlights of the evening, and indeed it was. A video loop showing images of Notorious B.I.G. played on screen behind the performers wile they sang a verse from one of his songs.
Host Anthony Anderson dressed up as Sam Smith, who was not in attendance. Anderson wore a wig and did an impersonation of the British pop star. “Sam Smith isn’t here tonight because he’s white and he didn’t think he would win at the BET Awards,” Anderson said to great laughter from the audience. “But we showed him that we love him, too.”
The evening witnessed a whole spectrum of emotions, from funny to grim. Kendrick Lamar kicked the evening off by standing on top of a police car and rapping a commentary about the American flag. There were a lot of background dancers, and members of the audience sang along. Lamar won best male hip-hop artist, later in the evening. “This is for Compton, this is for Watts,” Lamar said when he accepted his award.
Janelle Monae also performed a duo with newcomer Jidenna. The song was called “Classic Man,” and it made some references to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. In fact, the evening was full of tips of the hat and jokes about race issues in America. Anderson even got in a few jokes about Rachel Dolezal.
The BET Awards also featured performances from Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Chris Brown, and Alicia Keys. Robin Thicke sang a tribute to Smokey Robinson, who won a Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding career. Nicki Minaj brought her mother on stage.
“Momma, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you’ve done for me. I love you so much,” she said. “Shout-out to all the girls nominated.” Minaj also gave a shout-out to fellow nominee and hip-hop rival, Dej Loaf. “Def Loaf, you’ve been very, very interesting to me and super forward,” Minaj said.
Minaj and Brown won most of the awards, with six nominations each. They have both been favorites at the award show for a few years now.