2021 BET Awards Nominees Are Out

The 2021 BET Awards Are Fast Approaching

The BET Awards ceremony is on Sunday, June 27, and as always, is the biggest day of the year for the culture.  We got a fun list of nominees for this year, let’s take a look!

Megan Thee Stallion and DaBaby sit at the top with seven nominations each, followed by Cardi B and Drake with five a piece. No surprise here, especially Meg, who has been on a constant winning streak of songs, collaborations, and great performances.  Less surprising is that Beyoncé is back on the list, pushing 60 lifetime BET nominations, the most ever.  Queen B also holds the record of 31 wins.  Of those nominated, Drake has the next most with over 50 career nominations and 15 wins.  Even if he sweeps his categories, Beyoncé’s record remains unscathed.

While we think Meg will take the trophy for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, the Best Male Hip-Hop Artist is a trickier prediction.  While he won’t win, Jack Harlow’s inclusion is a nice acknowledgement of his welcoming into the culture.  Drake is always a staked claim, DaBaby is leading the awards, J. Cole’s been accomplishing the most within the past month, but we think it will come down to Lil Baby or Pop Smoke.  Both have been inescapable and while Lil Baby seems to be the culture’s favorite MC right now, it would please many if the late king of Brooklyn drill, Pop Smoke, received the honors.

More Than Just Music…

Outside of music, there’s a batch of bright young geniuses nominated for the Youngstars Award.  The nominees for Best Actress are a toss up in which any outcome is satisfactory.  The same could be said about the Best Actor category, but we’re hoping to see the tragically departed legend, Chadwick Boseman receive further posthumous glory.  Between both sportsperson categories, Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Claressa Shields, Russell Wilson, and Patrick Mahomes are the only nominees that aren’t basketball players.

LeBron James, the record holder of eight wins in this category, is seeing his 18th nomination on this ballot.  While the Lakers are the seventh seed, LeBron’s work against the second seeded Suns might just get him his ninth win for Sportsman of the Year.

Besides the nominees, both the host and the performers are all TBD but there’s no doubt that they’ll be a lot of fun!  Admittedly, audiences particularly hope to see Silk Sonic on stage for the first time, with the too-good-to-be-true collaboration between Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak. We will just have to cross our fingers, but the reality that any performer will get out there and kill it is good enough.

Check out the list of BET Awards nominees here!

Written by Jason Heilbronner