Tag: BET Awards

NIGERIAN artistes have dominated African acts at this year’s BET Awards scheduled to hold on June 27 in the United States.

The acts – Wizkid, Tekno, Mr Eazi, Davido and Stonebwoy – will compete with AKA, Nasty C and Babes Wodumo for the Best International Act: Africa category. Also, “Amazulu” hitmaker Amanda Black and Tanzanian performer Ray Vanny are nominated for Viewer’s Choice Award “Best International Act”, in conjunction with performers from the UK, South Korea, Canada, Australia and Jamaica.

Singer and humanitarian Yvonne Chaka Chaka and social activist Ilwad Elman would also awarded with International Global Good Star and Power Awards.

The show which will be aired on BET (DStv Channel 129) and hosted by stand-up comedian Leslie Jones, will have stars such as Mary J. Blige, Maxwell, Xscape and El Debarge along with some of hip hop’s hottest talent including A$AP Rocky, French Montana, Gucci Mane, Swae Lee, Khalid and SZA and Kamasi Washington perform.

And Beyoncé dominates this year’s nominations with a total of seven including ‘Best Female R&B/Pop Artist,’ ‘Best Collaboration’ with Kendrick Lamar for “Freedom,” ‘Video of the Year,’ and ‘Album of the Year’ for Lemonade. Bruno Mars follows with five nods including ‘Album of the Year,’ ‘Best Male R&B/Pop Artist,’ and ‘Video of the Year’ for “24K Magic.”  Other nominees include Solange, nominated for four awards and who is up against sister Beyoncé for ‘Best Female R&B/Pop Artist.’ Chance the Rapper and Migos receive four nominations as well, Chance the Rapper nominated for ‘Best Male Hip-Hop Artist’ and ‘Best New Artist’ and Migos for ‘Best Group’ and ‘Best Collaboration’ for their #1 hit “Bad and Boujee” with Lil Uzi Vert Award.

BET Networks also revealed iconic R&B group New Edition will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award while multi-Grammy Award winning hip-hop artist and singer-songwriter, Chance the Rapper, will receive the evening’s Humanitarian Award presented by Walmart.

As controversy of an all-white Oscar rages on, critics have indicted organizers of events such as BET Awards and Black History Month as also fueling segregation among Americans.

But American singer and actress, Whoopi Goldberg differs, as she explains the essence of such programmes during a television interview recently, where she also cited America’s Republican Presidential aspirant, Donald Trump’s unreserved disdain for the blacks.

“”Maybe it’s time for me to move,” if Donald Trump is elected president,” she said on Wednesday’s The View, garnering right-wing media coverage.

“I’ve always been an American, and this has always been my country, and we’ve always been able to have discussions,” she said. “And suddenly now it’s turning into, you know, ‘not them, not them.’”

As reported by Fox News, Goldberg also responded to Stacey Dash’s recent comments about getting rid of BET and Black History Month.

She explains as to why these networks and initiatives focusing on black people are so important, after her co-hosts asks, “Is [Black History Month] subconsciously, whether we realize it or not, creating a divide amongst us, and pitting one group against the next?”

Goldberg first asks her co-host what she knows about black history besides slavery, she doesn’t answer but says she knows what she’s taught in school, and what she’s tried to learn herself. Goldberg then explains:

But the thing is, [black history] is not taught. Asian history is not taught in school as it pertains to America. American history holds all of us, and [Dash] is right in that, yes we are all Americans, but we’re not all treated like Americans. One of the reasons that there is a BET is because networks wouldn’t take a lot of shows that has an all-black cast,” she said.