BET Africa today announced the nominations for the 2017 “BET Awards" which will broadcast across Africa on BET (DStv channel 129) on Tuesday 27 June at 20:00 CAT.
The annual even honoured eight leading African artists who are blazing up the African music scene. Holding up the torch for South African hip-hop is chart topping don, AKA, rising star, Nasty C and the inimitable dance and house music sensation, Babes Wodumo. Nigeria enjoys a strong representation with Wizkid who is no stranger to the awards, the infinitely talented Tekno, enterprising singer Mr Eazi , singer and producer Davido and one of the leading reggae and dancehall artists, Stonebwoy from Ghana rounding up the nominees for the Best International Act: Africa.
Said Monde Twala, Vice President for BET, Youth & Music, “Africa has a rich cultural heritage and the BET Awards reflect the power of our culture through music. This annual celebration puts the spotlight on African artists and exposes their amazing talent to the world. We wish the nominees well and congratulate them for the hard work and effort over the last year.”
The awards which were established in 2001, first introduced the Best International Act category in 2010 which initially merged European and African performers and saw rapper HHP being the first South African performer to be nominated that year.
In 2011, the category was split into two categories one for the European market and another for Africa, with hip hop trio Teargas being the second locals to be nominated. In 2012, singer Lira was nominated, while in 2013 popstar Toya Delazy and R&B crooner Donald represented SA and in 2014 duo Mafikizolo held the flag high. By 2015, AKA was nominated in the category while rapper Cassper Nyovest was nominated for the Viewers Choice Award. For the first time in 2016, South Africa was awarded the gong when international DJ Black Coffee won with locals Cassper Nyovest and AKA as his fellow nominees that year.
For this year's awards, multi-award winning singer Beyoncé dominates the nominations with a total of seven including ‘Best Female R&B/Pop Artist,’ ‘Best Collaboration’ with Kendrick Lamar for “Freedom,” ‘Video of the Year,’ and ‘Album of the Year’ for Lemonade. Bruno Mars follows with five nods including ‘Album of the Year,’ ‘Best Male R&B/Pop Artist,’ and ‘Video of the Year’ for “24K Magic.” Other nominees include Solange, nominated for four awards and who is up against sister Beyoncé for ‘Best Female R&B/Pop Artist.’ Chance the Rapper and Migos receive four nominations as well, Chance the Rapper nominated for ‘Best Male Hip-Hop Artist’ and ‘Best New Artist’ and Migos for ‘Best Group’ and ‘Best Collaboration’ for their #1 hit “Bad and Boujee” with Lil Uzi Vert.
BET Networks recognizes artists, entertainers, and athletes across over 19 categories with the 2017 "BET Awards" nominations. The nominations are selected by BET’s Voting Academy, which is comprised of fans and an esteemed group of entertainment professionals in the fields of television, film, music, social media, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, and the creative arts.
The complete list of nominees for the 2017 "BET Awards" are:
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
BEYONCÉ
KEHLANI
MARY J. BLIGE
RIHANNA
SOLANGE
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist
BRUNO MARS
CHRIS BROWN
THE WEEKND
TREY SONGZ
USHER
Best Group
2 CHAINZ & LIL WAYNE
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
FAT JOE & REMY MA
MIGOS
RAE SREMMURD
Best Collaboration
BEYONCÉ FT. KENDRICK LAMAR - FREEDOM
CHANCE THE RAPPER FT. 2 CHAINZ & LIL WAYNE - NO PROBLEM
CHRIS BROWN FT. GUCCI MANE & USHER - PARTY
DJ KHALED FT. BEYONCÉ & JAY Z - SHINING
MIGOS FT. LIL UZI VERT - BAD AND BOUJEE
RAE SREMMURD FT. GUCCI MANE - BLACK BEATLES
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist
BIG SEAN
CHANCE THE RAPPER
DRAKE
FUTURE
J. COLE
KENDRICK LAMAR
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist
CARDI B
MISSY ELLIOTT
NICKI MINAJ
REMY MA
YOUNG M.A.
Video of the Year
BEYONCÉ - SORRY
BIG SEAN - BOUNCE BACK
BRUNO MARS - 24K MAGIC
MIGOS FT. LIL UZI VERT - BAD AND BOUJEE
SOLANGE - CRANES IN THE SKY
Video Director of the Year
BENNY BOOM – KEHLANI “CRZY”
BRUNO MARS & JONATHAN LIA – BRUNO MARS “THAT’S WHAT I LIKE”
DIRECTOR X – ZAYN MALIK “LIKE I WOULD”
HYPE WILLIAMS – TYGA “GUCCI SNAKES FT. DESIIGNER”
KAHLIL JOSEPH & BEYONCÉ KNOWLES-CARTER – BEYONCÉ “SORRY”
Best New Artist
21 SAVAGE
CARDI B
CHANCE THE RAPPER
KHALID
YOUNG M.A.
Album of the Year
24K MAGIC - BRUNO MARS
4 YOUR EYEZ ONLY - J. COLE
A SEAT AT THE TABLE - SOLANGE
COLORING BOOK - CHANCE THE RAPPER
LEMONADE - BEYONCÉ
Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award
CECE WINANS – NEVER HAVE TO BE ALONE
FANTASIA FT. TYE TRIBBETT – I MADE IT
KIRK FRANKLIN FT. SARAH REEVES, TASHA COBBS & TAMELA MANN – MY WORLD NEEDS YOU
LECRAE – CAN’T STOP ME NOW (DESTINATION)
TAMELA MANN – GOD PROVIDES
Best Actress
GABRIELLE UNION
ISSA RAE
JANELLE MONÁE
TARAJI P. HENSON
VIOLA DAVIS
Best Actor
BRYSHERE Y. GRAY
DENZEL WASHINGTON
DONALD GLOVER
MAHERSHALA ALI
OMARI HARDWICK
YoungStars Award
ACE HUNTER
CALEB MCLAUGHLIN
JADEN SMITH
MARSAI MARTIN
YARA SHAHIDI
Best Movie
FENCES
GET OUT!
HIDDEN FIGURES
MOONLIGHT
THE BIRTH OF A NATION
Sportswoman of the Year Award
GABBY DOUGLAS
SERENA WILLIAMS
SIMONE BILES
SKYLAR DIGGINS
VENUS WILLIAMS
Sportsman of the Year Award
CAM NEWTON
LEBRON JAMES
ODELL BECKHAM JR.
RUSSELL WESTBROOK
STEPHEN CURRY
Centric Award
FANTASIA - SLEEPING WITH THE ONE I LOVE
KEHLANI - DISTRACTION
MARY J. BLIGE - THICK OF IT
SOLANGE - CRANES IN THE SKY
SYD - ALL ABOUT ME
YUNA - CRUSH FT. USHER
Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award
BEYONCÉ - SORRY
BRUNO MARS - 24K MAGIC
DRAKE - FAKE LOVE
MIGOS FT. LIL UZI VERT - BAD AND BOUJEE
RAE SREMMURD FT. GUCCI MANE - BLACK BEATLES
THE WEEKND FT. DAFT PUNK – STARBOY
Best International Act: Africa
AKA (South Africa)
BABES WODUMO (South Africa)
DAVIDO (Nigeria)
NASTY C (South Africa)
STONEBWOY (Ghana)
TEKNO (Nigeria)
WIZKID (Nigeria)
MR EAZI (Nigeria)
Best International Act: Europe
BOOBA (France)
MHD (France)
CRAIG DAVID (UK)
EMELI SANDE (UK)
GIGGS (UK)
SKEPTA (UK)
STORMZY (UK)
WILEY (UK)
To vote for your favourite artist, please go www.betafrica.tv from 15 May to 26 May 2017.
Russian Bear is the official South African broadcast sponsor for the BET Awards 2017.
For more information on the BET Awards, visit www.betafrica.tv, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BETinAfrica, or join the conversation about the channel on Twitter and Instagram @BET_Africa using the hashtag #BETAwards17. - release from VIMN Africa
