The BET Hip-Hop Awards premiered last night on Oct. 15, and it was truly another excellent night celebrating the genre we all love. For the first time, the show didn’t take place in Atlanta; this year’s edition taking place at Drai’s Beachclub & Nightclub in Las Vegas — but the vibes were still the same. The man of the night was easily Kendrick Lamar.
Lamar pulled off a clean sweep at awards, winning in every category he was nominated for. He won a grand total of eight awards, including Hip Hop Artist of the Year over Drake, 21 Savage, Cardi B, Future, GloRilla, Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj. Lamar also took home Lyricist of the Year, besting Lil Wayne, Common, 21 Savage, Cardi B, Minaj and Drake once again.
His dominance is a result of his rap beef with Drake and the success of his hit song “Not Like Us,” which is still the best-selling hip-hop song of 2024. “Not Like Us” swept every category the song was nominated for, including Song of the Year, Best Hip Hop Video and Impact Track.
Outside of Lamar, Future and Metro Boomin’ took home two awards for Best Collaboration and Best Duo or Group. Minaj took home Best Hip-Hop Album for her latest album Pink Friday 2, and Sexyy Red cemented herself as rookie of the year by taking home the Best Newcomer Award. Travis Scott received the biggest award of the night by accepting the I Am Hip-Hop Award.
Someone who didn’t have a great night was Megan Thee Stallion. She was nominated for 12 awards — the most by any nominee — but she left with none. She is still riding high this year regardless, as her song “Mamushi” is one of the most viral songs on TikTok in 2024.
Performers of the night included BossMan DLow opening up the show with his hit songs “Shake Dat A– (Twerk Song)” and “Get In With Me.” Other performers included Juicy J, Yung Miami, Trina, 310babii and Soulja Boy.
Truly an unforgettable night in hip-hop.
