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Kendrick Lamar and Killer Mike were among the winners at the 2024 BET Awards while Usher took the stage in a standout moment.
On Sunday night (June 30), the 2024 BET Awards took place in front of a packed house at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The night, hosted by actress Taraji P. Henson, was a star-studded affair that saw some of the biggest Black personalities in entertainment take home awards. R&B superstar Usher being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award was the key highlight of the four-hour show, which also saw him take home the award for Best Male R&B/Pop Artist.
Usher took the stage to receive the award after a medley performance of his greatest hits from artists including Childish Gambino, Summer Walker, Keke Palmer, Victoria Monét, and Teyana Taylor with Latto closing it out with her version of Ludacris’ verse on “Yeah!”. L.A. Reid and Babyface presented the award to Usher, who began his speech by saying: Getting here has definitely not been easy, but it has been worth it. This life achievement award, I don’t know man. Is it too early for me to receive it? Because I’m still running and gunning and still love this s—t like I was eight years old.”
Kendrick Lamar took home the award for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist, beating out Drake as his “Not Like Us” song served as the opening of the show as Henson rapped an interpretation dressed as the Compton artist was on his “Pop Out” concert. Nicki Minaj secured the award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, and Killah Mike got the major award of the night by winning Album of The Year for his recent release, Michael. The Atlanta rapper stirred the crowd with his acceptance speech.
The rest of the evening also featured energizing performances from Megan Thee Stallion, who appeared at the BET Awards for the first time in three years while Victoria Monét thrilled the crowd with her set featuring her hit “On My Mama” and her new single “Alright”. The new wave of women rappers also took the stage, with GloRilla descending from the roof in a parachute to kick her set off. Sexxy Red also performed a medley of her hits, while Ice Spice gave the audience a preview of her upcoming Y2K album with a quick set.