We know that women have been running the music industry for a while, and the 2024 BET Awards showcased that perfectly through its many performances. But before we get into the performances, we must first acknowledge our sister, the beloved actress Taraji P. Henson, who hosted the award show and looked good doing it. While she isn't a musical artist, she did, however, open her set, rapping her own version of Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us."
Megan Thee Stallion set the tone by opening the show, performing a melody of songs from her new self-titled album. Victoria Monét had everyone singing along to "On My Mama" and gasping for air with her sultry performance of "Alright." She also took home two awards: BET Her and Video of the Year. Sexyy Red instantly had everyone on their feet when she performed "U My Everything" and "Get It Sexy." GloRilla performed her popular anthem "Yeah Glo!," her most recent hit "TGIF," and Megan joined her onstage to rap their song "Wanna Be" together.
Keke PalmerPhoto by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET
Latto took us to church with "Sunday Service" and showed out with "Big Mama." Five-year-old VanVan and eight-year-old Heiress Harris gave the cutest performance of their song "Be You." Ice Spice performed her viral hit "Think You The Shit (Fart). The legendary Lauryn Hill sang a melody of her hits from "Lost Ones" to Fugees' "Fu-Gee-La" with Wyclef Jean and her son YG Marley joined her to give a riveting performance of "Praise Jah In The Morning." Tyla took us to Africa with her recent single "Jump," featuring Skillibeng and Gunna, and she also walked away with two awards. She won Best New Artist and Best International Act.
Sexyy Red
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
But that's not all. While Usher was being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, he received a primarily female tribute. This included Coco Jones, Marsha Ambrosius, Teyana Taylor, Chloe Bailey, Keke Palmer, Victoria Monét, Tinashe, Summer Walker, and Latto. Check out each performance below.
Megan Thee Stallion Performs "Boa," "Hiss" And "Where Them Girls At"
Victoria Monét Performs "On My Mama" And "Alright"
GloRilla Performs "Yeah Glo!" "TGIF," And "Wanna Be!"
Tyla, Gunna & Skillibeng Perform "Jump"
Latto Performs "Sunday Service" And "Big Mama"
Sexyy Red Performs "Get It Sexyy" And "U My Everything"
Ice Spice Performs "Think You The Shit (Fart)"
VanVan And Heiress Perform "Be You"
Lauryn Hill And Son YG Marley Perform "Praise Jah In The Moonlight"
Teyana Taylor, Victoria Monét, Coco Jones, Chloe Bailey, Keke Palmer And More Honor Usher
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
RELATED
Yet, the 49-year-old's background sets her apart from other first ladies. Shaunie brings a unique perspective as a public figure, which stems from her previous marriage to NBA star Shaquille O'Neal and her experience in reality television.
In an interview with xoNecole, while promoting her memoir Undefeated, the Basketball Wives creator discussed what being a first lady means to her and how she has lived her life non-traditionally.
When asked if she had always been nontraditional, Shaunie revealed that throughout her life, she has made it her mission to better herself by learning from experiences and breaking harmful cycles.
Shaunie Henderson and Pastor Keion Henderson
Photo by Robin L Marshall/Getty Images
“I think that's just who I am. I can’t say I intentionally go against the grain. In the book, I talk about things from my childhood, like my dad being late all the time. I was totally opposite with my kids when they were in school. I was always there early. My mother is not affectionate, and she doesn't verbally say, ‘I love you,’ but she does things to let you know. That's the way she shows her love,” she said when describing her relationship with her parents.
“But because I missed that 'I love you' and hugging and kissing, I do that with my kids. I try to always give what I needed myself. There were basketball wives who weren’t very nice to me, so I went out of my way to make sure that once I was a wife that I didn't treat anybody else like that. No one was going to feel like that on my watch.”
Toward the end of the conversation, when discussing her first lady responsibilities and the pressures of upholding that image, the mother of five explained she isn't too hard on herself to fit the mold, given her significantly different background from most first ladies and her relatively new role.
“As far as being first lady, now, I'm not knocking how any first ladies decide to operate but I just knew that the idea of what that usually is was not me. And, to be honest, rightfully so. I'm probably the only first lady that created a reality show that has been on television since 2010. My life is not remotely close to that of most first ladies. We've experienced completely different things. Most of them have been pastor’s wives for a long time, this is all new for me. I come with an entirely different journey; that wouldn’t lend itself to being a traditional first lady,” she stated.
Shaunie's nontraditional approach appears to work in her favor, as she has been welcomed with open arms just as she is.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images