Childish Gambino and Keke Palmer Pay Tribute to Usher at 2024 BET Awards

(AP) – Shortly after winning the trophy for Best R&B/Pop Male Artist, Usher received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 BET Awards.

Childish Gambino kicked off an all-star tribute to the R&B pop performer with U Dont Have to Call, joined by Keke Palmer, who took the lead on You Make Me Wanna… Summer Walker took the stage for Good Good; Coco Jones appeared in the audience for a sultry rendition of There Goes My Baby, serenading Usher and his wife Jenn Goicoechea.

Marsha Ambrosius did Superstar; Chle covered it with Good Kisser. Tinashe did Nice & Slow; Teyana Taylor dressed as Usher and Victoria Mont teamed up for Bad Girl. Latto brought the energy for Yeah!

Usher is an eight-time Grammy winner and recently completed a two-year Las Vegas residency, Usher: My Way at the Park MGM. In February, he released his first solo album in eight years, and in August he is set to launch a 24-city U.S. tour called Past Present Future.

Earlier in the night, Will Smith stood in a circle of fire joined by Fridayy and the Sunday Service gospel choir to perform the live debut of his latest single, You Can Make It.

I don't know who needs this right now, Smith opened his set. But I'm here to tell you that you can do it.

Halfway through, Kirk Franklin joined them, and then two rapped together. Nobody has it easy, said Smith, who is coming back from slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars two years ago. There is wisdom in that fire. Dance in your darkest moments.

The upcoming presidential election was a big topic of conversation on Sunday's show. After Childish Gambino presented Killer Mike with Michael's Album of the Year award, the rapper used his acceptance speech to discuss his Grammy arrest and vote.

Technically, I wasn't supposed to be here. I was handcuffed and taken out of that building. But I want to tell you, look at God. Because I'm back, baby. I am back and I am winning, he said in his speech. Killer Mike was arrested at the Grammys earlier this year following a physical altercation that he claimed was caused by an overzealous security guard; he was not charged for the incident.

They're going to tell you who we vote for is important, he continued, and that's who we vote for on the big stage. That's important, but it's even more important that you know who your city councilor is, who your district attorney is.

Megan Thee Stallion opened the show by emerging from an egg, a metaphor for her new musical renaissance, before diving into an energetic medley of her new singles “Hiss” and “Boa.”

BET, where are my daughters? she said, shouting out Mont and Jones in the crowd before launching into Where Them Girls At, a track that has become an immediate fan favorite since Friday's release of her third studio album, Megan.

Taraji P. Henson hosted the show at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. Her opening monologue was a performance, with Henson rapping “It’s about us,” in a loose parody of Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us. The diss track became Lamar’s fourth No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year and was released amid his recently reignited and once-dormant feud with Drake.

No beef here tonight, she joked: Can we say plant-based?

The first award of the evening, for Best International Actor, was presented by actor Colman Domingo. It was presented to Tyla, the South African amapiano superstar from Johannesburg.

“It’s very heavy, guys,” she joked about the weight of the award. “Thank you BET for always pushing the culture.”

Later that night, she won the award for best new artist. “It’s crazy,” she said. “I just want to dedicate this award to Africa. I want to dedicate this award to all the African superstars before me who didn’t get the opportunities that I got.”

Mont, who earlier this year won the Grammy for Best New Artist, made his BET debut and set the bar for performances, condensing a full set into minutes with three costume changes and a pair of songs, On My Mama and Alright.

Next up, Sexyy Red took the stage, performing her sweet bedroom ballad U My Everything before moving to another stage and changing costumes to tackle Get It Sexyy in front of an LED screen depicting the White House and dancers dressed as the Secret Service.

The show took a new turn when VanVan and Heiress Harris, two young rappers, performed their empowerment anthem “Be You” in a classroom. Harris is the daughter of rapper TI and singer Tiny Harris.

Country musician Tanner Adell brought his Buckle Bunny and his new song, Cowboy Break My Heart. GloRilla came out from above, descending to join her dancers for Yeah Glo! and Wanna Be, the latter of which featured a surprise appearance from Megan Thee Stallion. Shaboozey rocked the country with A Bar Song (Tipsy), one of AP’s Songs of the Summer picks. His track features an interpolation of J-Kwon’s Tipsy, so naturally, the rapper made a surprise appearance, an unexpected and rewarding cross-genre collaboration.

Drake leads the nominations. Among them, he's up for album of the year for his eighth studio album, For All the Dogs. One of the awards he's up for is the music video for First Person Shooter, his collaboration with J. Cole that may have been the catalyst for his recent feud with rapper Kendrick Lamar.

Nicki Minaj follows with six titles, including Album of the Year for her highly anticipated release Pink Friday 2. Two of her nominations were for her song with Ice Spice, Barbie World, which is part of the hit Barbie soundtrack .

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