Here we have the "BET Hip Hop Awards" from 2017, so not a really fresh awards show anymore, but nonetheless relatively recent. Or maybe not depending on when you read this review of mine. In any case, right now in late 2020, it's still gonna take a while until this one has its fifth anniversary, especially because the event was also held relatively late in the second half of 2017. The host is the man on the poster here on imdb. I wish I could say anything positive about him, but I just can't. Not aout his music, but that's not the issue. There are many overrated hip hop artists out there that I don't mind. However, with him I do not only not see the talent, but I also find him genuinely unpleasant to watch and if there is one man from the rap music industry I would never want to mee, it is probably him. His hosting here made it a tough watch for me. Already when he came out at the very start and began to ramble about how legendary this night would be. I mean almost nothing happened yet. It would have been just as much nonsense had he said it at the very end, but there you could at least say he just has no taste. With this statement at the very start, it felt extremely delusional to me. So I am glad every time he was out for a while here during this 1.5-hour show. Or actually even shorter if we don't count commercial breaks. Really not a long event at 86.5 minutes or so, even if it felt longer in a negative sense. The negative had many reasons here. Some of those are linked to these Cypher segments that are really popular during these BET Hip Hop Awards and have been for a long, long time really. I like the idea in general because hip hop music does not belong in pompous concert halls. It belongs to the streets and there we see some more or less established artists doing their freestyle routine. Problem is most of them really weren't any good, which once again took away considerably from the potential here overall. And then there was Eminem. I don't even know what to say. You have to experience it yourself. It is so cringeworthy how he so desperately tries to keep up with his edgy rebel reputation, but what he does exactly could not be any more detail. Also really not cool how he treats his fans here that do not have the same political perspective like he does. Or maybe they do and all he does here is pretend to please the mainstream because the mainstream media can sink your career within weeks if they want to. So yeah, absolutely no respect for Eminem after seeing this and I once liked him. Shameful how he has become a highly forgettable string puppet by now. Anti-Trump propaganda was also seen on several other occasions during this show. No need to go into detail any further. Eminem was really just the most negative example of them all. And he takes that as a compliment I assume, but the opposite is the case. With his performance here, he has 100% made clear that he is jus a shadow of his former self and will probably never find back his way to greatness. Probably not even to goodness. Enough about him now, he does not really deserve the attention anyway.
One of the big winners that night was Kendrick Lamar and he wasn't even there. Good for him I suppose. One could only lose being a part of this awards show. Increases my respect for him. But then again, it does not take much to be one of the more serving winners that night if people like Cardi B, Dj Khaled and Nicki Mina take home awards. Miserable, especially looking at how many Cardi B won and even how desperately the announcers were trying to push her to convince people she actually possesses quality. I don't see it at all. I am talking about the very first awards of the night already (or second) when one man stated that the award goes to where he belongs or should go or something like that. Oh well, if Cardi B is really deseving of all these awards, i.e. if she had been the best of 2017, then maybe it's high time to put hip hop music to the grave. But I refuse to believe it. There are definitely way more talented recording artists out there and probably even many without a record label. They just took the ones with the most charisma maybe, also with the most recognition value for this show here. Their absence of a good voice or actual talent is secondary. Or probably tertiary even. Which kinda makes me think that it would be better if this awards show here would be discontinued. I mean you can like some of the people on here depending on what you're into, but nobody can say what you heard here even close to rap music from the 90s, even earlier or also maybe the early years of the new millennium. Shameful what this music genre has turned into. I mean I have never been the very biggest rap music supporter, but there is stuff I like and what we saw and heard that night in 2017 is definitely not it. Apart from that, the show also stuggles with general issues, namely that once again there were far too many performances and just not enough awards action. And at the same time, the shut out some categories (come on, there aren't even that many) nonetheless. Also, apparently they once again found it more important to includes scenes shot linked to charity. For whatever reason. I mean it's a good and cool thing, but just doesn't fit in. This is an awards show. Or well, actually it is not, but they are pretending it is one. And when there actually were awards given out for once, it also did not feel satisfying at all. The promoter sounded so annoying and over the top. The winners were a mess, well except Jay-Z perhaps. Can't believe he is in his 50s already. And again a category named "Hustler of the Year" is nothing I cannot take seriously at all and also should not be included by any means. By the way, where were the White people? Only Eminem. Come on, a little more diversity would be nice. I know this is BET, the station that is not even scared of hiding their focus on a certain race in the title (extremely offensive and intolerant if you ask me), but still. There are talented White, Asian, Indian... rappers out there. Don't shut them out because they don't look the type. No matter how poor the music here may have been, this is perhaps the most despicable thing about this entire ceremony and also the awards in general I'd say. 2017 was not the exception. Also does the protagonist's color here make it right how women are depicted? How they are dancing in a cage almost naked. I am sure with everybody being White at an event like this, there would be major sexism backlash. Oh well, I guess you get the point. It is enough now I'd say. There is only one valid approach to this show. Stay far, far away from it if it's ever on again. Absolutely not recommended. Nothing even remotely creative about these under 1.5 hours and I am actually really glad this did not run for another hour. So yes, this is the only good thing I can list here. I just don't give one out of ten ratings, otherwise I would with this one. In a heartbeat. They are giving such a bad name to hip hop. Shameful.
One of the big winners that night was Kendrick Lamar and he wasn't even there. Good for him I suppose. One could only lose being a part of this awards show. Increases my respect for him. But then again, it does not take much to be one of the more serving winners that night if people like Cardi B, Dj Khaled and Nicki Mina take home awards. Miserable, especially looking at how many Cardi B won and even how desperately the announcers were trying to push her to convince people she actually possesses quality. I don't see it at all. I am talking about the very first awards of the night already (or second) when one man stated that the award goes to where he belongs or should go or something like that. Oh well, if Cardi B is really deseving of all these awards, i.e. if she had been the best of 2017, then maybe it's high time to put hip hop music to the grave. But I refuse to believe it. There are definitely way more talented recording artists out there and probably even many without a record label. They just took the ones with the most charisma maybe, also with the most recognition value for this show here. Their absence of a good voice or actual talent is secondary. Or probably tertiary even. Which kinda makes me think that it would be better if this awards show here would be discontinued. I mean you can like some of the people on here depending on what you're into, but nobody can say what you heard here even close to rap music from the 90s, even earlier or also maybe the early years of the new millennium. Shameful what this music genre has turned into. I mean I have never been the very biggest rap music supporter, but there is stuff I like and what we saw and heard that night in 2017 is definitely not it. Apart from that, the show also stuggles with general issues, namely that once again there were far too many performances and just not enough awards action. And at the same time, the shut out some categories (come on, there aren't even that many) nonetheless. Also, apparently they once again found it more important to includes scenes shot linked to charity. For whatever reason. I mean it's a good and cool thing, but just doesn't fit in. This is an awards show. Or well, actually it is not, but they are pretending it is one. And when there actually were awards given out for once, it also did not feel satisfying at all. The promoter sounded so annoying and over the top. The winners were a mess, well except Jay-Z perhaps. Can't believe he is in his 50s already. And again a category named "Hustler of the Year" is nothing I cannot take seriously at all and also should not be included by any means. By the way, where were the White people? Only Eminem. Come on, a little more diversity would be nice. I know this is BET, the station that is not even scared of hiding their focus on a certain race in the title (extremely offensive and intolerant if you ask me), but still. There are talented White, Asian, Indian... rappers out there. Don't shut them out because they don't look the type. No matter how poor the music here may have been, this is perhaps the most despicable thing about this entire ceremony and also the awards in general I'd say. 2017 was not the exception. Also does the protagonist's color here make it right how women are depicted? How they are dancing in a cage almost naked. I am sure with everybody being White at an event like this, there would be major sexism backlash. Oh well, I guess you get the point. It is enough now I'd say. There is only one valid approach to this show. Stay far, far away from it if it's ever on again. Absolutely not recommended. Nothing even remotely creative about these under 1.5 hours and I am actually really glad this did not run for another hour. So yes, this is the only good thing I can list here. I just don't give one out of ten ratings, otherwise I would with this one. In a heartbeat. They are giving such a bad name to hip hop. Shameful.
