Back in the day, Janet Jackson; Mariah Carey; Missy Elliott; Aaliyah; and Whitney Houston dominated the music world. While Janet, Mariah and Missy are still icons in the game, there’s been a distinctly masculine feel to much of the disposable music being released nowadays. However, on Sunday, at the 2024 BET Awards, producers decided to put the focus back on the women, as the show was essentially all about the ladies.
Rap superstar Megan Thee Stallion opened the night with a blockbuster rendition of her new song, “Boa.” This was followed by show-stopping performances from Victoria Monét; Tyla; Tanner Adell; Sexyy Red; Latto; GloRilla; Ice Spice; and Ms. Lauryn Hill. By the way, if you’re complaining about how these women express their sexuality, remember male rappers and singers have been saying the same thing about women for years, with everyone just enjoying the music, shrugging their shoulders and saying, “Boys will be boys.” If there’s one thing we learned from the various performances, it’s that there’s room for everyone to have a voice.
Even the all-star Usher tribute we waited all night for was an (almost) all-female affair, as Childish Gambino kicked things off before Keke Palmer; Summer Walker; Coco Jones; Chloe; Tinashe; Latto; Teyana Taylor and Monét celebrated the R&B legend.
This was a controversial choice that led to a lot of talk about the state of male R&B. While singers like Avery Wilson and Durand Bernarr expressed their availability on X, the producers were obviously trying to do something different. As host Taraji P. Henson noted, Usher is “one of one.” Honestly, having male R&B artists try to do Usher like Usher would’ve been asking too much of them. Using a female lineup brought something new to his well-known hits.
The whole night was a showcase for how influential Black women have become in music and entertainment. Featuring so many talented artists from so many different backgrounds declared that we’re not going anywhere. This isn’t a temporary resurgence, it’s a return to form and everyone who has an issue with it should just get used to it.