The 2021 BET Awards was an enormous night for Black music. Method Man, Swizz Beatz, Griselda, and others came together for a tributary performance honoring the late DMX, while Zendaya paid homage to Beyoncé with her red carpet look, rocking a custom Versace dress inspired by a similar one Bey wore in 2003.
Cardi B revealed her 2nd pregnancy during her performance with Migos, while the City Girls debuted some choreographed moves for their rendition of their viral hit “Twerkulator.” H.E.R., née Gabi Wilson, who walked away with two awards after the night concluded, hit the stage for a powerful rendition of her song “We Made It,” playing every instrument on her own as she came through with perfect vocals.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET
The Oscar winner, who was celebrating her 24th birthday during Sunday’s show, impressed the star-studded audience with her drumming skills, as well as her smooth electric guitar runs during the snazzy performance.
Donning her signature shades and a matching white tee and rockstar pants with fringes, she gave an incredibly captivating performance of the song off her full-length debut project Back Of My Mind. The performance earned praise from presenter Jill Scott, who applauded her moments after her performance for her range in skills.
Ahead of her performance and the show, she spoke with ET about what it means to be at the show on her birthday. “We’re celebrating our culture. We’re celebrating Black women. We’re also celebrating my birthday so it is a very big day,” she said, adding that she plans to “kill the stage is what I’m going to do for my birthday.” She added that after the award show, “We’re all going to go back to the house and eat — that’s what we doing.”
“I’m so excited to see all the faces and it just feels warm, that’s what it feels like,” H.E.R. said of performing on her birthday. “But you’re going to see something from me that you have never seen before so it’s going to be extra super special.”
Check out her powerful performance above if you haven’t already.
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