Championing over Drake, Future, and Travis Scott, the meteorically rising hip-hop artist took one of this year’s most prestigious titles at the BET Awards.
The BET Awards celebrated their 20th anniversary this year, and though it was (unsurprisingly) not the type of celebration that was initially planned, the event has received rave reviews, heralded by Billboard as “reimagining what a virtual performance can be” and even “what award shows could look like post-pandemic”. Billed as a “virtual awards ceremony”, the three-hour event took place as a live-stream hosted by Amanda Seales, and included 15 performances from artists across the spectrum, including Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Wayne, Anderson .Paak, Roddy Ricch and Alicia Keys. Each artist pre-recorded their performance, accompanied by professionally produced visuals and FX: “We were seeing cuts along the way and helping massage [each performance], but the artists and their teams really worked hard because everybody knew all eyes were going to be on this show — and I think everybody went above and beyond” said Jessie Collins, BET Awards’ Executive Producer.
“It was always about redefining what ‘virtual’ can be. The goal was always, ‘How do we make this bigger? How do we surprise people? How do we push everything to the limit?’’ That’s what we set out to do.”
Connie Orlando, BET
The BET Awards recognise excellence across pop, hip-hop, trap, R&B, gospel, entertainment and sports. A triumph came for American rapper, singer and songwriter DaBaby after he received the award for Best Male Hip Hop Artist, beating titans such as Drake and Future to the coveted title. DaBaby’s “Rockstar”, featuring Roddy Ricch (who himself was recognised with awards for Best Album and Best Newcomer) has recently been dominating the US charts, riding high on the Billboard Hot 100 for two consecutive weeks, before knocking 6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj’s “Trollz” off to enjoy a third week at No. 1. DaBaby’s “Kirk” was also nominated for Album of The Year, while the 2019 single “Bop” earned a nomination for the Viewer’s Choice Award.