Music

Method Man, Griselda, And More Deliver A Gritty DMX Tribute At The 2021 BET Awards

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It was Method Man who kicked off the the DMX tribute on the 2021 BET Awards, rapping an acapella rendition of one of DMX’s most beloved verses. Then, Griselda Records took the stage to perform a snippet of their new song with DMX, “Hood Blues,” before a succession of X’s contemporaries and admirers, including actor Michael K. Williams, Busta Rhymes, and his own Ruff Ryders crew, including Jadakiss of The LOX, channeled his gritty energy to perform some of his biggest hits like “Ruff Ryders Anthem” and “Party Up.”

DMX passed away earlier this year after an accidental overdose. He was in a coma for a week, during which his contemporaries and fans in the hip-hop world shared an outpouring of well-wishes. Eventually, after he’d passed, it was announced that Def Jam, the label where he’d released groundbreaking classics like It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot, Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood, and And Then There Was X…, put out his posthumous album Exodus, which was named for his son.

Meanwhile, his funeral was held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, with Def Jam footing the bill, where his casket was brought in on a monster truck, and the service featured performances from his daughter (who sang her own rendition of his song “Slippin’”) and the Kanye West Sunday Service choir. DMX’s longtime collaborator Swizz Beatz gave an impassioned eulogy, imploring the assembled mourners to “learn how to celebrate each other while we’re here.”

Watch the 2021 BET Awards tribute to DMX above.

Rapsody And Lil Kim Pay A ‘Ladies First/UNITY’ Tribute To Queen Latifah At The 2021 BET Awards

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Rapsody, Lil Kim, MC Lyte, and Monie Love paid lyrical tribute to Queen Latifah at the 2021 BET Awards as she won a Lifetime Achievement Award, performing Queen Latifah’s culture-defining hits “Ladies First” and “U.N.I.T.Y.” Rapsody and Monie Love opened things up with “Ladies First,” rocking gender challenging looks inspired by athletics, then Lil Kim and MC Lyte rapped “U.N.I.T.Y.,” with Kim ironically being the one to yell the iconic line, “Who you callin’ a bitch!?” The quartet’s tribute was followed by an acceptance speech from the pioneering Queen herself, who shouted out her partner, and wish fans a happy Pride Month.

Rapsody, who’s been a fixture of BET’s award shows over the years, last performed on the network in 2020, at the BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher, spitting socially conscious bars alongisde Chika, Jack Harlow, Polo G, and Rhythm + Flow finalist Flawless Real Talk. Throughout 2020, Rapsody made impressive appearances on a number of other artists’ projects, including Public Enemy’s What Are You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?, Reason’s New Beginnings, and T.I.’s The L.I.B.R.A., as well as Stevie Wonder’s social commentary, “Can’t Put It In The Hands Of Fate.” Meanwhile, she also made her own social commentary on the song “12 Problems,” ensuring she stayed in the conversation, even without having a new album out.

Watch the 2021 BET Awards tribute to Queen Latifah above.

People Think Lil Nas X’s BET Performance Make-Out Is A Huge Moment For Pride And Queer Acceptance

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Lil Nas X has been breaking down barriers since the beginning of his career. First, he bridged genres between country and hip-hop with his introductory single, “Old Town Road,” then, he broke multiple records with how popular that tongue-in-cheek, campy song was. After that, he became even more influential by choosing to come out, and live openly in his queerness.

Tonight, he raised the stakes even higher by making out with one of his male dancers during a performance of “Montereo (Call Me By Your Name)” at the BET Awards. Calling back to that infamous kiss between Madonna and Britney Spears, it’s a much more powerful statement for a young Black, queer man to do this on national television — during Pride — than it was for those two women back then.

Since it came as such a surprise, fans and celebrities alike are reacting to the moment, uplifting and praising Nas for both his bravery and self-acceptance, condoning his choice to be himself so openly. It shouldn’t be revolutionary for him to kiss another man at an event like the BET Awards, and maybe because of his choice to be so open, one day soon it won’t be. Check out reactions below.

Silk Sonic Delivered A Smooth Rendition Of ‘Leave The Door Open’ At The 2021 BET Awards

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Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars took the music industry by storm when they formed their duo Silk Sonic and released their upcoming album’s lead single “Leave The Door Open.” The song soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks, went viral on TikTok, and earned them the chance to perform at a number of awards shows, including the 2021 Grammys. Silk Sonic now bring their lush track to a silky-smooth rendition at the 2021 BET Awards to celebrate their Best Group nomination.

Leaning into their ’70s aesthetic, .Paak and Mars took the stage sporting matching pastel tuxedos. Joined by a few dancers, the duo left the stage and delivered the rest of their song amid the crowd. After their set ended, .Paak and Mars trolled the audience by asking if they wanted to hear a brand new song. But instead of unveiling a brand-new track, the performance cut to a commercial break.

Ahead of their set, .Paak and Mars sat down with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe to discuss their new duo. The two had been on tour together in 2017 and were intermittently messing around in the studio. As Mars explains it, though, things really kicked off when he called up a drunk .Paak and told him to meet him in the studio. “When we got to the studio, I actually called him on his birthday and I said, ‘I think I figured out that little hook we had. Come to the studio.’ He’s like, ‘It’s my birthday.’ So he came drunk. After every take, he was on fire.”

Watch a clip of Silk Sonic performing “Leave The Door Open” at the 2021 BET Awards above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lil Nas X Delivered A Steamy Rendition Of ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ At The 2021 BET Awards

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Lil Nas X has already had quite the eventful year. He dropped two new singles, had a wardrobe malfunction on his SNL debut, and was sued by Nike for selling “Satan shoes.” Now, Lil Nas X may not hold a nomination at the 2021 BET Awards show this year, but he still gave a showstopping performance of “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” at the ceremony.

Lil Nas X went all-out during his 2021 BET Awards set. He waltzed out wearing in an all-gold, Egyptian pharaoh-inspired outfit, paying homage to Michael Jackson’s iconic “Remember The Times” video. That wasn’t the only pop culture moment Lil Nas X paid tribute to. At the end of his set, the musician made out with a few of his fellow backup dancers, drawing inspiration from the iconic kiss shared by Britney Spears, Madonna, and Christina Aguilera at the 2003 VMAs.

Ahead of his BET Awards performance, Lil Nas X revealed that he knew his “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” track would eventually land on Fox News, even during the planning stages. The musician laid out his vision as a recent guest on the Desus & Mero show, saying he had some idea of its controversial nature before it dropped. “Even when I was planning the video, I was like, ‘Oh, this is definitely going to hit Fox News,’” he said. “I definitely didn’t expect the outrage as much as it was at all, especially, like, governors tweeting me. Like, you’re a governor. You don’t have anything better to do?”

Watch a clip of Lil Nas X perform “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” at the 2021 BET Awards above.

City Girls Demonstrated How To Best Enjoy Their Hit ‘Twerkulator’ On The 2021 BET Awards

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The 2021 BET Awards were already a spectacle but at 10:20 pm ET / 7:20 PT, it was time for the “Twerkulator.” Miami duo City Girls — that’s JT and Yung Miami — hit the stage with a fleet of dancers in the shortest of short shorts to explain just what exactly their newest hit is about, with all the visual aids anyone could want.

Although the Miami duo’s musical output this year has been lower than it was at the same point when they were first breaking out, that doesn’t mean they haven’t been in the news quite as much. They’ve created their share of disturbance on social media, particularly with regard to JT’s relationship with fellow rapper Lil Uzi Vert, as well as Yung Miami’s similar possible situation with rap vet Puff Daddy — aka Diddy — aka “Love.”

However, the City Girls did share their new single “Twerkulator,” which had samples of Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock” and Cajmere’s “Percolator,” and tried to make sure that they had an entry for “song of the summer.” So far the track has peaked at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100, which is a pretty strong start — although with Black TikTok on a strike, there won’t be a splashy dance number to push it along. Hopefully for them, tonight’s performance will do enough to get them to where they want to be.

Watch City Girls’s 2021 BET Awards performance of “TK” above.

There’s Some Understandable Confusion That Jack Harlow Is Nominated At The BET Awards

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Twitter has thoughts about a white rapper. Are you surprised? As has happened many times before, when the very white Eminem received multiple nominations at the BET Awards — an award show designed to highlight Black excellence in entertainment – fans are consternated that Jack Harlow is up for a few trophies tonight. Look, it’s not like these are small awards either, Harlow is nominated for Best New Artist, Best Male Hip-Hop Artist, and his “What’s Poppin” remix (which featured DaBaby, Tory Lanez and Lil Wayne).

Surely he is one of the rising stars in the genre, but in a space that’s reserved to focus on Black performers, who will consistently face barriers that Harlow never has and never will, it’s always a strange reality. That’s the main point for most people who are reacting to his nominations, though most aren’t really questioning his talent or disparaging his music. Still, whenever Twitter does what it does, seizing upon a subject and going to town with reactions, memes and jokes, it’s always worth checking out. Again, Jack, no hard feelings, just know those footsteps you’re walking in right now were laid down by Marshall Mathers many times over.

For his part, the main thing Jack is focusing on is his red carpet look:

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

HER’s 2021 Lights On Festival Is Led By Erykah Badu, Bryson Tiller, And Ari Lennox

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In addition to winning Grammy and Oscar awards, HER also has her very own music festival. She first premiered the Lights On Festival back in 2019 with help from Summer Walker, Jhene Aiko, and Daniel Caesar. While there might’ve been plans to have the festival again in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic forced the singer to delay the show for the forseeable future. Now that things are reopening for the most part, HER used the 2021 BET Award stage to announce that the Lights On Festival would return this fall. Moments later, the official lineup for the show was revealed.

This year’s Lights On Festival will return the Concord Pavilion on the weekend of September 18-19. The show is led by Erkyah Badu, Bryson Tiller, and Ari Lennox as well HER who will appear with “friends” that have yet to be mentioned. Other performers for the Lights On Festival include Ty Dolla Sign, Keyshia Cole, Masego, Lucky Daye, Kiana Lede, Foushee, Blxst, VanJess, Arin Ray, Tone Stith, Tiana Major9, Maeta, Brianna Castilo, Samaria, Maxx Moore, Lorea, and more names to be announced.

In addition to announcing the festival at the BET Awards, HER also performed “We Made It” and won the Best Female R&B/Pop Artist award.

You can view the full lineup above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jazmine Sullivan Dazzled By Performing ‘On It’ With Ari Lennox And ‘Tragic’ At The BET Awards

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Jazmine Sullivan’s stellar 2021 year has brought her back to the BET Awards. For this year’s edition of the ceremony, the singer received two nominations, Album Of The Year for Heaux Tales, which she released back in January, and Best Female R&B/Pop Artist. In addition to that, she also took the stage to perform “On It” with Ari Lennox and her newest single, “Tragic.” As expected, Sullivan and Lennox absolutely impressed onstage as her soaring vocals filled the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California.

Her performance at this year’s BET Awards extends a string of excellent sets the Philly singer has delivered this year. It began when she brought her talents to NPR’s Tiny Desk in January to perform “Bodies (Intro),” “The Other Side,” “Lost One,” “Let It Burn,” and “Girl Like Me,” which she performed alongside HER who contributes a guest verse to the track. She then delivered a duet of the national anthem with Eric Church at Super Bowl LV. Elsewhere, she performed “Girl Like Me” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and “Girl Like Me” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

“Tragic” is the singer’s first official release since dropping Heaux Tales at the beginning of the year. The track fits perfectly with the project from a conceptual and sonic standpoint which hopefully means that a deluxe reissue could be on the way.

You can watch her performance in the video above.

Roddy Ricch’s 2021 BET Awards Performance Of ‘Late At Night’ Was Classy And Cool

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Roddy Ricch‘s performance of his new single “Late At Night” for the 2021 BET Awards could best be summed up by two words: Cool and classy. Modeled after a burlesque show, the performance saw Roddy and his band styled as an old-school jazz band in front of a city skyline background and surrounded by showgirls in glittering, skimpy ensembles as he performed on the glistening stage.

Although the Compton rapper has been laying low for most of the year, he has popped up on occasion to perform at awards shows and feature on other rappers’ tracks. Earlier this year, he performed his No. 1 hit single “The Box” at the Grammys and appeared alongside DaBaby to perform their No. 1 collaboration of “Rockstar.”

Meanwhile, though Roddy didn’t release much new music himself, he popped up on 42 Dugg’s “4 Da Gang” and DJ Khaled’s “Body In Motion” with Bryson Tiller and Lil Baby. However, fans who’d been waiting for a new single from the West Coast rapper were by no means disappointed this year; June 4 saw him release his first brand-new single, “Late At Night,” after teasing it for nearly a year, and they can look forward to his next album sometime this year.

Watch Roddy Ricch’s 2021 BET Awards performance of “TK” above.