BET Africa Celebrates The Best In African Talent At 2017 “BET Awards”

2017 “BET Awards” To Air Exclusively On BET Africa On 27 June At 20:00 CAT

BET Africa, part of Viacom’s African multimedia portfolio, 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.With Beyonce topping with seven nominations, Bruno Mars takes five and followed by Chance the rapper, Solance and Migos with four a piece. 

The 2017 “BET Awards” honors 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 singerMrEazi, singer and producer Davido and one of the leading reggae and dancehall artists,Stonebwoy fromGhana rounding up the nominees for the Best International Act: Africa. VOTING NOW LIVE AT www.betafrica.tv

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.”  

This year’s broadcast marks 17 years of unexpected performances, trailblazing moments, super dope talent, and entertainment’s most provocative players. The iconic show continues to be a cultural rule breaker steeped in reinvention with some of the most memorable moments in Award show history. In 2016, Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar surprised guests with a groundbreaking performance of “Freedom,” Sheila E. and Mayte Garcia performed during the Prince Lifetime Achievement Award tribute and Jesse Williams’ brought the audience to their feet with his dynamic and ever-viral Humanitarian Award acceptance speech. The 2017 “BET Awards” has set the standard for one of the most intently unconventional, news-provoking broadcasts. 

Beyoncé dominates this year’s 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 Marsfollows 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 Beyoncéfor ‘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.tvlines open till 26 May 2017. For more info visit www.dstv.com

May 19, 2017