2022 BET Awards Winners

Tonight kicked off the 2022 BET Awards. The year’s biggest black event featured stars celebrating the culture, but not everyone can win.

Take a look below and see who took home the gold at tonight’s BET Awards!

Lifetime Achievement Award 

Sean “Diddy” Combs 

Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Sean Combs, Puff Daddy, Puffy. whatever you call him, Diddy has cemented himself as hip-hop royalty ten times over. Bad Boy Records has brought us iconic artists like Mary J Blige, Shyne, and Faith Evans. And of course, all three of those artists helped pay tribute to Puff with a nostalgic ensemble. 

Best Male Hip-Hop Artist 

Kendrick Lamar

via Getty/Kevin Mazur

Kendrick Lamar has the unique ability to be nowhere, and suddenly everywhere all at once. Before dropping his recent album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, Lamar had gone on a long 5 year hiatus. We went from not hearing a peep from this hip-hop pioneer to 35,500 first-week sales and his fourth No. 1 album. Saying that Kendrick has stamped his name in rap would be a grave understatement. 

Best Group 

Silk Sonic 

 John Esparza via Getty Images

Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars simply go together. It’s almost like the two were meant to collab. with a mutual affinity for 70-80s black music and a similar strange sense of humor, .Paak and Mars have an extremely natural chemistry. This group is brand new but feels classic already. 

Best Female Hip-Hop Artist 

Megan Thee Stallion 

Meg is a particularly profound success story. Shortly following both the passing of her mother and manager, this Texas rapper grinded nonstop and topped herself with each release. From Fever to Suga to Good News, Megan has gained accolades with each drop. She now has two no. 1 hit singles with “Savage” and “WAP,” and she’s just getting started. 

Female R&B/Pop Artist 

Jasmine Sullivan 

via Instagram @JazmineSullivan

Who hasn’t blasted “Holding You Down” or “10 Seconds” out of their car after a bad fight? For years, Jazmine Sullivan has been a staple in everyone’s R&B playlist. Her newest album Heaux Tales Mo Tales debuted in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 200, making it her highest-charting work to date. 

New artist 

Latto 

via Getty/Steve Jennings

From the Rap game to reality, Latto has come a long way with still such a long way to go. This newcomer has already secured a gold and platinum record with “B***h From Tha South.” More recently, she grabbed her first Billboard top ten hit with “Big Energy.” She even managed to get Mariah Carey on the remix! Anyone can see Latto’s name shining brighter with each year. 

International act 

Tems

via Instagram @Temsbaby

In such a short amount of time, Tems has made a name for herself stateside. This Nigerian singer-songwriter immediately caught everyone’s ear on Wizkid’s “Essence” back in 2020 and has been making strides since. She’s featured on Future’s I Never Liked You and Drake’s Certified Lover Boy. 

Best Male R&B/Pop Artist 

The Weeknd 

Steve Schofield for the Guardian

The Weeknd has been hot for years, and the flame is still burning. His latest album Dawn fm hit no. 1 on the billboard top album sales chart with 148,000 copies sold worldwide in the first week. In addition to this, he broke a record with 24 songs on the billboard hot 200 at the same time. Certainly impressive. 

Best Collaboration 

Wizkid feat. Justin Bieber & Tems – “Essence”

The song of the summer that just happened to be released in the fall. The perfect way to describe this remix featuring pop icon Justin Bieber. Whether it’s the original or the remix ,Essence is perfectly paired with some toes in the sand and a mimosa in hand. 

Best Gospel/Inspirational Award 

Lil Baby x Kirk Franklin “We Win”

This unexpected duo snatched the gospel award of the night. While many may have thought lil baby’s style wouldn’t suit a gospel record, the “We Paid’ rapper easily proved this wrong. Although at times they can be on opposite sides of the spectrum, It goes to show that gospel and rap can blend flawlessly with some teamwork.

Best Actress 

Zendaya 

Euphoria is just the tip of the iceberg, and it’s HBO’s most streamed show ever. Zendaya has had an excellent run recently. Spider-Man: No Way Home, Dune, and Euphoria are all massively popular franchises she’s become the face of. Look out for her in Dune Part II next year. 

Youngstars Award 

Marsai Martin 

Marsai is best known for playing Diane on the hit ABC show Blackish. Blackish recently ran its last season, but Marsai has plenty in store for us. Following her debut as the youngest producer of all time in the movie little, she is starring in the upcoming film fantasy football with Kelly Rowland and Omari hatdwick.

HER Award

Mary J Blige “Good Morning Gorgeous”

Good morning gorgeous is such a feel-good anthem, it’s no wonder it got Mary this award. With her newest album of the same name landing a No. 9 spot on the Billboard top R&B /Hip Hop albums chart, Mary is showing no sign of slowing down. This R&B legend has made herself BET VIP, with this being her seventh award from the network.

Album of the Year 

An Evening with Silk Sonic 

via Pitchfork

Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak obviously make a great pairing, with two Grammys and now a BET award under their belt. An Evening with Silk Sonic provides an authentic retro R&B funk the charts desperately need. With massive hits like “Leave the Door Open” and “Smokin Out The Window,” Mars and .Paak have mastered the art of the 1970’s soul. 

Best Actor / Best Movie

Will Smith  

King Richard

Chiabella James/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Will Smith has been a box office alumni for decades. When you have a whopping 11 movies with a gross profit of over $300 mil, you can walk around with a certain confidence. Undeniably, Smith has that confidence in spades. Despite an extremely controversial year for the Philly-born actor, Will Smith has received widespread praise for his portrayal of Richard Williams. King Richard, a movie documenting the rise of Serena and Venus Williams, got excellent reviews from critics. In addition to critical reception, King Richard is providing Smith with an excellent award season. The 53-year-old also received an Academy Award and Golden Globe for best actor for his performance in King Richard.

Video of the Year 

“Family Ties” Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar

Many accused Baby Keem of nepotism when he first stepped on the scene in 2018, being the cousin of already famous Kendrick Lamar. Those claims were quickly dashed with his debut album The Sound of Bad Habit, and he’s still killing it with his cousin today. “Family Ties” is a hectic back and forth between Kendrick and Keem, with an equally hectic video to match. This music video was directed by Dave Free who worked with Kendrick for the “N95” and “The Heart Part 5” videos. 

Video Director of the Year 

Anderson Paak

Anderson .Paak is tremendously multi-talented. In addition to being a singer, he’s a rapper, songwriter, producer, drummer, and apparently director. He directed the music video for Leon Bridges “Motorbike,” and will be making his film debut with the comedy K-POPS! for Stampede Ventures soon. 

Sportswoman of the Year 

Naomi Osaka 

Naomi Osaka has made massive strides in the world of tennis, and also athletes’ mental health awareness. This outspoken 24-year-old has bested the likes of Serena Williams and Marie Bouzkova already. Regardless of this, she’s still human. She made a stunning decision to withdraw from the 2021 French Open last year and subsequently revealed her struggles with depression. Naomi Osaka reminds sports fans that there are real people behind those tv screens, and their mental matters. 

Sportsman of the Year 

Stephen Curry 

NBAE Via Getty Images

With the NBA finals wrapping up earlier this month, Steph seemed like the clear choice. The 34-year-old recently led the Golden State Warriors to victory against the Boston Celtics. This landed Curry his fourth ring. With a lead of over 10 points, it’s clear that Curry is a stronger athlete now than ever. 

Those conclude the winners of the 2022 BET awards. Do you think everyone deserved their flowers? And which rising star do you want to see walk down the red carpet next year?

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Dreema Carrington|IG: @dr3amgirl79 | Twitter: @notdreema