The 2023 BET Awards were handed out Sunday night, Afrobeats stars Burna Boy and Tems picking up awards in their different categories.
Burna Boy edged out other nominees from Brazil, UK, South Africa, France and fellow Nigerian act Ayra Starr to win the ‘Best International Act’ award while Tems won for best collaboration with her feature on Futures hit song ‘Wait For U’.
Latto, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, 21 Savage, Coco Jones, and Teyana “Spike Tey” Taylor were among the winners announced during the live telecast.
The awards recognise the best performances of the year across music, TV, film and sports. The ceremony also celebrated 50 years of hip-hop throughout the show, which aired on BET from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Winners in only a fraction of the categories were announced during the broadcast.
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The show kicked off with a slew of performers, including opener Lil Uzi Vert as well as Afrobeats star Davido and hip-hop pioneers The Sugarhill Gang, who performed their seminal “Rapper’s Delight.” It also featured a tribute to the late Biz Markie with his “Just a Friend.”
Davido performed hit songs from his latest album including ‘Unavailable’, and ‘Feel’. The audience at the event was thrilled by the performance with international celebrities seen dancing along to the song with the viral dance steps.
A performance by Warren G of “Regulate” and tributes to Tupac Shakur and Takeoff, the latter by his Migos colleagues Quavo and Offset, were among the other notable moments. Later, Tyga took the stage and sang “Rack City.”
A medley of Busta Rhymes’ singles was performed toward the close of the broadcast as part of an homage to his lifetime success. This was followed by an all-star hip-hop tribute.
