The BET Hip-Hop Awards are confusing. They’re apparently not the same thing as the BET Awards, and they also happened, like, two weeks ago, but are only airing now. Furthermore, there are roughly four awards actually handed out by my calculations. Some of these are named for corporate sponsors, like the Reese’s Perfect Combo Award for best collaboration, which I’m not even mad at because Reese’s are fucking delicious. But half of the recipients don’t even bother to show up. The BET Hip-Hop Awards are such a non-event that it was an absolutely struggle just to find images from it on the interweb. But hey, there were performances and pre-recorded cyphers and Snoop Dogg hosted, so it was better than 97% of other award shows based on that shit alone. And with an awards show focused on a genre so tuned into the fashions, obviously there were a ton of notable looks to break down. And who better than me—hip-hop expert, friend of several black people—to provide the expert analysis you so desperately seek.
Angelo Spagnolo is a writer living in Portland, Oregon. Read his blog here and follow him on Twitter here.
1. bestworstBET
2. 2chainzredcarpet
3. 2chainz
4. diddy
5. busta
6. weeknd
7. ludacris
8. A$AP
9. LILKim
10. actionbronson
11. bonethugs
12. jay rock
13. NEYO
14. futureredcarpet
Future (Red Carpet)
I’m still getting over the fact that the Future I’ve been hearing about all year is not Mekhi Phifer in 8 Mile or black Hiroki Nakamura.
15. future
16. BOB
17. floydmaywather
18. mackwilds
Mack Wilds
My dude Tristan Wilds (not really my dude) of the underrated fourth season of The Wire and the terrible CW 90120 remake is apparently trying to follow the Drake path from teen drama actor to rap star. I only know this because the janky BET red carpet video credited him as "Mack Wilds: Artist". Dixon (90120 government name,) let me give you some advice: First, go for a job, you’re looking kinda chunky, bro. Second, this Drake thing isn’t a trend. It was a one time only pass. Growing up on TV sets doesn’t give you a huge catalog of experience to rap about. Drake gets by rapping about things depressed millenials can relate to. That boat has sailed, cuz.
19. frenchmontana
French Montana
French's alphet got him looking like the love child of Maury Ballstein from Zoolander and Rueben Tishkoff from Ocean's Eleven.
20. snoop
21. rickross
22. nelly
23. MOP
M.O.P.
The Mash Out Posse was not at the show, but I listened to Warriorz while drinking a high grav 40 to get into my hip-hop zone before writing this. Yo BET, my dudes Fame and Danze couldn’t’ even catch a nosebleed invite? Hip-hop is dead. Serious question though, Is Brownsville gentrified yet? Could a corny white dude move there without getting stabbed? I told one of my fashion homies that I’d finally move to NY if he could guarantee I’d meet M.O.P. Finna make this happen.