The 2012 BET Awards aired last night…and if you thought this year’s awards was going to be one of those lame BET award shows from years past, then you were in for a great surprise. The BET Awards got it right this year! Mind you, this is coming from an old-school head (several “youngins” on twitter said that it was a boring awards show…oh little they know).
Kanye’s label, G.O.O.D. Music, came out (Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz), Rick Ross’s label, Maybach Music Group aka “MMG” came out (Wale, Meek Mill, French Montana…), R&B/Techno staples Usher & Chris Brown did their thing, Nicki Minaj received some love back from her core fans, coming hard with “Bees in the Trap” (lord knows she would’ve been booed out of the stage, if she came out singing “Starships”). Side note: Nicki Minaj is the only female hip hop artist ever that has music that plays heavy in both the Hip-Hop AND Pop markets, meaning she must be getting $$$$ (or does that go to her boss, Lil Wayne?)…oh, and Chaka Kahn is her real mother, I don’t care what ANYONE says. Have you googled their pictures together??
Now that I got all of that out of the way, lets go to the good part: The tributes…and D’Angelo’s return.
Part 1: D’Angelo’s first return on TV since 2000:
Ladies, if you thought D’Angelo was gonna come back with them cornrolls and that shirtless image, then you are clearly stuck in 1998. Dude was locked up for some time, years have passed…you probably woulda thanked God that his shirt never came off in that show.
Moving on, never knew how talented of a musician D’Angelo was…he was killing in on them keys (shoutouts to his talented band…including his drummer, one of my all-time favorites, Chris Daddy Dave). I don’t know if he will keep the lady fans who remembered him from that How Does It Feel video (can’t ever forget the Jamie Foxx version), but at least he’s back on the music scene…and will provide the full spectrum of who he is as an music “artist”, not just a sexual figure that sells.
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Part 2: Maze feat. Frankie Beverly tribute:
How many times have you heard those horns come up in their classic “Before I Let Go:” and everyone stars getting up (well, at least your parents), because they know what’s about to come on? Yeah, Frankie Beverly feat Maze (which is an actual group, by the way) did their thing. “Joy & Pain”, “Happy Feelings”, “We Are One”, they got classics!!
Joe, Tyrese (who looks like an upgrade from Joe), and Faith Evans did their thing…although I can’t just help to think how much Joe envies Tyrese…I mean Joe looked like the project-in-waiting before Tyrese came. The industry, for some reason, can’t have 2 dark-skinned brothas at the same time. Someone had to go…
Also interesting is that Tyrese stated at the BET AfterParty that Maze ft Frankie Beverly’s live show is their 1st ever televised concert/performance ever! I don’t know if that’s true, but if it is, then what the hell were the networks thinking back then? They must have been blinded by Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder in those days, but it’s great that they finally get their due!
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Part 3: Whitney Houston Tribute
When Soulja Boy comes to tears, you know it was moving…
Mariah Carey, Monica, Brandy (when did she start having “assets”?), Chaka Kahn, her half-brother John Houston…and her OWN MOTHER Cissy Houston all came out and represented well. Big shoutouts to the Waiting to Exhale cast on their tribute, also. It’s good that BET chose the people who were with her all the way (Cissy, John Houston), influenced her (Chaka Kahn), or were influenced by her (Mariah Carey, Brandy, Monica) in her tributes. BET did well this year!
Another side note: Big ups to her mother Cissy Houston, for the way she handled the 48 years of her daughter “Nippy’s” life. People can say that she didn’t step in sooner when Whitney was having her drug issues, but Cissy really tried to let Whitney live HER life, and not live her life through the “success” of her daughter (unlike other fame-hungry mothers out there…Kris Jenner, i’m talking to YOU). I will forever respect Cissy Houston for having the courage to come out and sing for her daughter like that (remember, she was a gospel artist back in the day). Keep her, and other parents who lost their children at a young age, in your prayers daily.
RIP Whitney!
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Quotes of the night:
“Don’t fall for the Flavor of the Week, sing what you want to sing, play YOUR music.” – Frankie Beverly, accepting his Achievement Award
“R&B is a dying breed, so we are here to bring it back. Call us the R&B Avengers.” - Tyrese, who along with Ginuwine and Tank, formed a new R&B group called TGT. They plan to drop their first album in Spring 2013.
Kim K looked more out of place than a black dude at a KKK Convention. Just wanted to point that out.
