Black art, culture, and pride were all on brilliant display Sunday night (June 26) at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater, where the 2022 BET Awards were held. Celebrating African American contributions to entertainment across film, TV, and music, the show made sure of two things: that several attendees were honored with prestigious awards, and that viewers were treated to an all-star lineup of show-stopping performances.
Kicking off with a glittering opening performance from Lizzo — who came armed with her signature flute and fleet of backup dancers as she performed her Billboard Hot 100 top five hit “About Damn Time” — the BET stage featured numerous main performers and even some surprise guest artists. Latto brought out none other than Mariah Carey for a surprise mashup of her blockbuster track “Big Energy” and “Fantasy”; Jack Harlow joined forces with Brandy for a live collaboration on his No. 1 single “First Class”; and Diddy was joined by one great after another, from Mary J. Blige to Lil Kim to Busta Rhymes for a career-spanning set.
And after his star-studded performance concluded, Diddy went on to accept the year’s lifetime achievement award with a speech that reminded his audience just how important it is to support one another. “We ain’t here just for ourselves,” he said in his speech. “We’re here for our ancestors.”
“I have this dream of us unifying, not just talk on this stage, but us. We know our community and our allies — if you with us, don’t be silent,” he said. “Put some money in the game, put some fight in the game, because we’re at war, you feel me? The last shall be first, and the first shall be last. We gotta unify.”
Check out all the performances from this year’s BET Awards below:
Lizzo: “About Damn Time”
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Kirk Franklin & Maverick City Music: “Kingdom” and “Melodies From Heaven”
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FireBoy DML: “Peru”
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Doechii: “Persuasive” and “Crazy”
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Muni Long: “Time Machine” and “Hrs and Hrs”
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Chance the Rapper & Joey Bada$$: “The Highs & the Lows”
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Ella Mai feat. Babyface & Roddy Rich: “DFMU,” “Keeps on Fallin’,” and “How”
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Latto feat. Mariah Carey, Champagne & Young Dirty Bastard: “It’s Givin” and “Big Energy”
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Billy Porter & Taraji P. Henson: Ballroom showcase set to “100% Pure Love” by Crystal Waters
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Chloe Bailey: “Surprise” and “Treat Me”
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Diddy feat. Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Shyne, The Lox, Lil Kim, Busta Rhymes, Bryson Tiller, Maverick City Music & Faith Evans: Career-spanning medley
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Giveon: “Heartbreak Anniversary,” “For Tonight” and “Lie Again”
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Jack Harlow feat. Brandy: “First Class” and “Poison”
Billy Porter: Tribute to Ballroom Realness
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GoGo Morrow: “In The Way”
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OGI: “I Got It”
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Tagged: Awards, BET Awards, entertainment blog, music, music blog, R&B/Hip-Hop