TOAST 2 THAT / ALL THE BUZZ ON THE HOUSE

This year, the BET awards brought out all the stars—even “The Carters” decided to descend from the highest heights of stardom and show their lovely faces. But even with the multitude of A-list rappers, musicians and actors, BET still managed to fall short when it came to the production and execution of last night’s star-studded event.

The show’s opening number was arguably the best of the night. I say arguably because the performance didn’t quite resonate until Kanye West appeared in his rarest of forms. Dressed in all white, the controversial rapper walked confidently down the hood of the Lamborghini Murcielago that was plastered on a tall, all white staircase. Like many of the performers from last night, the rapper knew his audience—his opening number, “Mercy” has remained the go-to song for urban radio platforms throughout the entire summer. West dropped jaws when he decided to stop the backtrack and give a chilling a cappella freestyle—this set precedent for the show and made rappers like Nicki Minaj  look like inexperienced amateurs. After one of the most disappointing openings in BET history, courtesy of Samuel L. Jackson and a seemingly inebriated Spike Lee, West took home the first award of the night for Best Group Performance —rightfully so. In a surprise skit, West brought out his boss and seemingly close friend, Jay-Z, to accept their award. Of all people, it was uptight Jay-Z who broke the ice at last night’s ceremony, purposely interrupting West during his acceptance speech, reminding everyone of when West famously interrupted country star Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech at the 2009 VMAs.

If there were any questions about whether the ceremony was really live, they were dispelled by whoever was controlling the mute button.  It was as if the person on duty was ‘so over’ keeping up with the expletives that he or she began bleeping out entire verses—making BET look both lazy and ill-prepared (Thanks, Debra Lee). After a rousing opening, BET slowed things down when R&B legend Usher took the stage for a sexy rendition of his hit, ‘Climax.’ Though his outfit was a bit questionable, the singer was restrained yet powerful during his performance—he reminded us that while Chris Brown is the best overall entertainer in his generation, he lacks the range and lung capacity to compete with “Ursher baby!”

Big Sean took home the most important award of the night for Best New Artist. I take this category very seriously because it is important that award shows get it right. Thankfully, BET did! Though Big Sean was competing against some really talented artists, his career was, by far the most promising. Midway through the show, Lady Gaga … I mean Lil’ Kim …. I mean Nicki Minaj took to the stage. The outrageous star looked exceptional in a body-hugging lace cat suit and gave a show-stopping performance of her hit “Bees in the Trap.”

There were some stand-out appearances last night, including DMV’s own Wale. The breakout star and Prince George’s County native won the award for Best Collaboration for his duet with R&B crooner Miguel. The star made no qualms about putting on for his city—shouting out the DMV twice during his acceptance speech. Melanie Fiona was the next star to grace the stage. The songstress went rouge by doing the unthinkable (insert sarcasm)—standing on stage with just a microphone, piano and a spotlight. The singer left her lungs on the stage after belting out a pitch perfect rendition of her ballad, “Wrong Side of the Love Song.”

It was a long time coming, but finally the man that everyone had claimed to be waiting for took the stage—D’Angelo. With all the anticipation leading up to his performance I was on pins and needles, hoping that the “How Does It Feel” singer would deliver. D’Angelo, one of the pioneers of neo-soul, delivered the most feel-good performance of the night. You could see it on the faces of the audience, including Beyonce and Solange Knowles, who both stood on their feet for the singer’s entire performance. At the conclusion, music lovers across the country were left wondering ‘what ever happened to real music?”

Beyonce took home the BET Star for Best Female R&B. Honestly, when Bey’s in a category, who can compete with that? The singer did take the time to pay tribute to R&B music—in rare form, King B took a swipe at one of the kids from Mindless Behavior by name dropping Lauryn Hill as an inspiration, after the group mindlessly took a swipe at the hip hop legend by alluding to the singer’s recent tax evasion charges. Though I was happy to see Wale take the stage, the lack of chemistry between the MMG family made their performance look like a bunch of randomness. I would have been happier seeing the DMV star go solo for this performance.

The Frankie Beverly & Maze tribute was one of the best of the night, especially being able to see hip hop widow Faith Evans powerhouse the stage—another reminder that, with the absence of artists like Evans,  real music is dead.

The most anticipated performances of the night were of those participating in the Whitney Houston tribute. In grand fashion, Mariah Carey emerged from backstage and, in the beginning, almost made the tribute about her. Something must have clicked with the multi-octave diva, because she temporarily deviated from her self-indulgence and actually shed a tear for the fallen diva. Everyone around me was expecting Carey to sing, but I knew that would have been a complete overreach by the singer, vocally. After Carey gave her emotional speech the camera panned to R&B diva Monica—she sang a soul-stirring rendition of ‘I love the Lord.’ Though Monica did a great job with the song, her rendition didn’t stand a chance against Houston’s, leaving the audience wanting more. The next performer surprisingly gave us just that—more! Brandy, a die-hard Houston fan, took the stage to sing one of Houston’s more popular hits—‘I’m Your Baby Tonight.’ Brandy’s voice, though thin at some points, (particularly in her full-voiced upper register) resonated beautifully. Her tone was deep and rich, and even with choreography her voice never faded. Her tribute to Houston was by far the most impressive. As for Cissy Houston, her tribute was emotional, so much so that it brought many folks, including Souljah Boy to tears.

Everything beyond the Whitney Houston tribute was randomness; with exception of Chris Brown winning the Viewers Choice Award (I would have killed to see Jay-Z’s face after trying to sabotage the poor boy’s career). Here’s how I would have scored last night’s event on a scale of 1-10:

Performances: 9.0

Production: 5.0

Hype/Advertising: 9.0

Distribution of Awards: 9.5

Overall: 8.1 (B-)