We Just Couldn’t Let This Slide
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You probably watched the BET Awards last night. I, Seattle, was happy and discouraged at certain points of the show. Sure there were a lot of mess ups, but that happens with a live show. Yes, even the White ones. All in all though, I was happy with the way they wove in the tributes on such short notice. Wish there could’ve been more, but hey, that’s what happens when you have little time. With that in mind, I did my best to let some of the little things go. We all know there were a lot of little things – like sound checks. But there were a few glaring mess ups that bothered me. Turns out there were a few things that irked the rest of the Three Ways crew too. Tell us if you agree.
The Ridiculous Amount of Hate
Before I talk about the award show itself, I’ve got to address the crabs in a barrel activity I saw. I’ve made it clear that I’m not a big BET fan, but damn. Some of the tweets I saw were ridiculous and just nitpicking a decent show. Like making fun of NeYo taking off his hat in respect to MJ. We know his head isn’t the best shaped melon out there, I’m sure he does too. For him to take off his hat, what probably acts as his blanket, during a performance shows immense character. So give the dude a break. He single-handedly saved the show with his routines throughout the show.
Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em To Sit Down
I’m not a fan. Why? Because he’s not a MC. Not even a rapper. Dude makes hooks and repeats them for three to three and a half minutes. I’m not hating, that’s a fact. Folks say I need to respect cat because he’s getting his money? Nah. Like I said before, folks can get money while still contributing and elevating their craft. The ones who do that the best usually make the most money. Case in point – Michael Jackson.
Dog, You’re At an Award Show…
Not the club, not the VIP section, and not your own promotional tour. I’m going to need T-Pain not to bring his half empty bottle of suss-Nuvo up during his performance or red cup full of drank on the stage as you receive an award. I am also going to need Jamie Foxx not to refer to his “boa” and thrust his pelvis and semi-wood at the camera man as he admits to drinking before he got on stage. Though I did snicker, it was more so out of a little embarrassment.
She’s in the Bathroom?
Hi Zoe Saldana, my name is Slim. You are easy on the eyes. No doubt about it. But did you really have to say that Nichelle Nichols was in the bathroom? Like really? She just couldn’t elevate her ass off the toilette fast enough to get back to the stage? You ODed.
Censor That..or Not
The censor person probably doesn’t have a job as of the time you are readin’ this post. Epic.Fail.All.Around. From the pre-show through the actual live BET Awards, there was nothing but mistimed bleeps/block-outs of swear words. How you gonna only block out the 3rd s*x in the chorus of the Birthday S*x song? You, my friend, are a failure. You couldn’t even bleep the slurred and slow O’Jays. SMH.
Blame it on the Gospel…
There’s something that makes me laugh about the ” New Queens of Gospel”, Mary Mary, doing a Godly song over a watered down version of the “Blame It on the Alcohol” beat. Like really? I understand bridging the gap and merging the music to go in a more positive direction, but really? You’re doing a song over the beat of a song that condones reckless behavior due to the effects of alcohol. So basically, have a one night stand on Saturday then rejoice and be forgiven on Sunday. Thanks.
Getting Them Early
Some songs are best left on the radio. Why even let an artist perform a song where you have to censor the whole joint? But, that’s not what really got me hung up. What got me was when Young Money brought out five adolescent girls out on stage while they did the song. C’mon man! What kind of impression is that giving? Is that your tribute to MJ? You have to put the kids to bed (not like that) before you do a song like that.
That’s all we got, well for now anyway. What did you guys catch?
The Three Ways Crew
98 Responses to “We Just Couldn’t Let This Slide”
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This show was an EPIC FAIL. This show was a setback to the black race. Just pure coonery & ignorance.
The only positivity I witnessed was Ne-Yo. True story.
& although, she sounded great, Ciara dancing would have been a great way to honor MJ.
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CHeeKZ thinks ur delusional. Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Ciara sounded GREAT! She sounds like a dog and looks like an idiot! She CAN’T SING! She just whispers her tunes. She got on cause she can dance and has hips. Everyone was clowning her on the radio this morning.
AND WHERE WAS THE ONLY TRUE MICHEAL LIKE TALENT…Chris Brown? Micheal loved Chris, it should have been up to BET who gets to pay tribute to him.
Another person absent was R Kelly. He wrote ‘you are not alone’.
My favorite part was all the cool stories the Ojays and Johnny Gill told about Micheal.
Only good hip hop performance was Jay-Z. If you could see the tweet WheelChair Jimmy inspired with his torn up ACL, lmao!
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ashbunnie Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Ok, I say she sounded great because normally she is singing AND dancing at the same time, so she sounds horrible. So for one time when she had to showcase her vocal ability or lack there of, she did a pretty good job.
I forgot to ask was anyone confused by Bey’s performance?!? I really needed someone to tell me why/how Ave Maria is relatable to
EBTBET?!? Furthermore, wtf was up with the bridalesque look she had going on?!? I was praying she would have just stopped and started a verse from PYT or something.Am I the only one who felt like Ne-Yo looked like a cross btwn Malcom X & Red Cafe?!? He was great altogether though.
HOV was the highlight of the evening for me.
BET should be fired from all things media for allowing “young money” to perform that damn song. Like you wont play tip drill on tv, but you allow tweens to dance to the song that just epitomizes the acronym STD?!? EPIC FAIL!
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Vanessa aka Miss V Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:17 am
yeah i agree. i thought ciara did a good job, but wished that she danced, too. i was very confused with beyonce’s performance… was she supposed to be a bride or an angel? i didn’t get it.
also, why the eff did those teenage girls come on the stage during drake and weezy’s performance? i felt like they were cussing up a storm the whole time.
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I can understand your point about the crab in the barrel and perhaps we shouldn’t nitpick about the small things that were wrong but in the same respect we should hold BLACK Entertainment Television to a higher standard.
They were the ones that promoted it like they were going to do some wonderful tribute. Had they just been upfront and said that due to the short time period they were just going to dedicate the show to him and plan a proper tribute later on I would have been more understanding. Because they billed it as a tribute you had a wider variety of veiwers than usual and as a result BET has just succeeded in further perpetuating many of the negative stereotypes associated with black people.
I will give Ne-Yo credit, without him the show would have been pretty much compelely a bust but he did a very good job. I just don’t know what else to say other than if you think that was an acceptable tribute then you have obviously never seen a real tribute.
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ASmith Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Agreed.
Beyonce flipped her performance, apparently, and she lost me. She would’ve done better to slap a Mike song on at the end and shake her ass, seriously. But whatever.
BET shot themselves in the foot and while I do think there has been some criticism above and beyond (like all the ish people got to say about Neyo, the man did his thing last night in Michael’s honor so let’s thank him for being one of the few who did), they shouldn’t have said they were going to do something and then half-ass it.
If Michael was watching that hot mess, I know he was upset. The man was a perfectionist — go hard or go home all day long.
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Vanessa aka Miss V Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:20 am
yeah my sis was pissed because she was expecting this big michael jackson dedication at the end, but only got jamie foxx and ne-yo singing “i’ll be there”. it would have been hot if they had a bunch of artists singing a mix of mj’s dance tunes.
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1. Ridiculous amount of hate – I didn’t think the show was good at all. Yeah they had to throw together the Michael Jackson tribute, but the show had been planned for some time, so I didn’t see why there were so many errors. Also, letting “Tiny and Toya” speak??? Zoe Saldana, Keri Hilson’s wack/corny performance. Beyonce’s boring performance, I don’t like to hear her ballads, I prefer to see her convulsing across the stage, she should leave the ballads to more interesting singers like Jill Scott. The way people were dressed, I didn’t like the more laid back look, it felt more like the MTV awards. The list of faux pas goes on for me. There were definitely some high points in the show, for instance Neyo’s performances, the O’Jays tribute and Maxwell. Maybe some people were truly hatin, but I was not pleased with what I saw for the most part.
2. As for Soulja boy, I am not a fan, and did not care for his performance, but it did not bother me as much as other things in the show.
3. As for T-pain, I am convinced; he is just a fool.
4. Zoe Saldana – that was just dumb, she was trying to be funny and failed miserably.
5. Yeah the censor person was off – LOL!!
6. Mary Mary – I actually liked the song and don’t think there is anything wrong with it. They were trying to reach a different audience who might not listen to music about God and they did a good job. I wasn’t even thinking about “Blame it on the Alcohol” when it was playing and a lot of people like “God in Me” and appreciate the meaning, so maybe that is just your issue and not Mary Mary’s.
7. As for the Young Money performance, it was odd to bring young girls on the stage. I’m not sure what the point of that was.
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Seattle Washington Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:54 am
I concur, the show was sub par. It had it’s shining moments, but a lot more ignorant ones. However, I was just noticing that folks were nitpicking and hating on stuff that was out of BET’s hands. I.e what I mentioned above. Folks going in because NeYo took his hat off. Dude was trying to pay respect to his musical mentor. Fall back.
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Remi Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Yeah, I agree with you on Neyo taking off his hat. Anyone talking about his head was reachin with that.
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Vanessa aka Miss V Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:22 am
i missed like the first 45min – 1hr of the show… sounds like that was a good thing LoL.
btw, don cornelius really irked me… talking all slow like it was his show. smh.
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I missed a lot of the award show- I was at the movies seeing, “The Hangover.”
On “Every Girl,” they were bleeping things that shouldn’t have been bleeped and things that should have been, got through.
I think they were just a little nervous after Uncle Eddie let one slip.
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ASmith Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:53 am
I think you’re right.
That whole “Every Girl” performance was wack. The LITTLE GIRLS on stage was when I had to throw my hands up.
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Nicki Sunshine Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:55 am
The little girls was freakish! I’m still trying to figure out what was the reason for them.
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CHeeKZ is getting off topic Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:20 am
I heard teh Hangover was an absolute classic? Live up to the hype Nicki?
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Vanessa aka Miss V Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:24 am
yes, that movie is hilarious!
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Nicki Sunshine Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Oh YES. U must see it.. I promise I have never howled at a movie in a theatre like that!
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CHeeKZ has a sick smile on his face Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
hmmm Sexy Nicki, Howling, Dark Movie Theater…. sounds like a good time
immature. Yes.
Could I resist. No, Madam. I could not.
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Nicki Sunshine Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
LMAO.. that’s awright CheekZ. I’ll take that as a compliment.
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Having seen it, and following with my wonderfully funny Facebook friends(which made the show 10x better), I must say there were extreme moments of disappointment.
One that forgot to point out was Ving Rhames comparing BET to guns…I mean really…way to cast a stereotype mister.
And the second most embarrassing moment as a community had to DEFINITELY be having your daughters galavanting around as Ho Spokesmodels to the Ho anthem, “Every Girl”…come on now, is that really what you want your daughter to think is okay, and even cool.
Other than that the show was pretty good and definitely an upgrade from the previous years…we’re gettting there…we’ve only been at this for like 6 years…so it’ll come.
Oh and as for Soulja Boy….”Hopped up outta beeeeeed, turned my swag oooon….took a look in the mirror said what’s up…yeeeeeeah, I get moneeey…ohhhhhh” Lol!
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I meant to say this in the post, but the Twitter feed got OD with the negativity and criticism…particularly from women. I was somewhat disappointed in quite a few
black womenfolks that just had something negative to say every minute about everything about every person. I made some jokes as well, but they were more so about general observations of the show than attacking the people in it…unless they were under the influence of drugs or acting like a real coon (Shout out to T-Pain).I had written a couple more paragraphs, but I deleted ‘em cuz it was turning into a vicious rant.lol. So I’ma get down off this soap box and return to the regularly scheduling blogging.
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Intellectual Hedonist Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Slim,
as one of the people that was criticizing the show pretty heavily I must say part of it for me was that I was mad that I was even watching BET… honestly
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i was more entertained by the commentary on twitter (follow me, shameless plug) about the awards than the actual award show.
when don cornelius started talking, that’s when it was over for me. during the ojay’s tribute i accomplished the following:
a load of laundry
cooked lunch for work the next day
cleaned my room
ironed my clothes for work tomorrow
as for t-pain…you can’t clown him for bring alcohol on stage during a song called “blame it on the alcohol” AND clown mary mary for “blasphemous” music…
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Slim Jackson Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 8:48 am
Appreciate the comment…but I don’t think anyone said Mary Mary made blasphemous music. I just noticed the selection of the beat and it made me laugh. Despite their message, all I could think of was “Blame it on the alcohol”. Pointed noted though about T-Pain. I guess “Blame it on the alcohol” could have been a theme for last night.
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Remi Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Mary Mary’s song came out before “Blame it On the Alcohol”.
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CHeeKZ wants to defile the innocent Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Mary Mary need to stop with all that Church Music and let me hit those thick bodies. That would be a dope Menage-a-CHeeKZ.
Gospel singers have been making cheap imitations of main stream music for years. People look the other way cause they are singing about white jesus. That drum roll and light snyth was popularized by southern producers like Mr CollidPark (sp), Bangladesh, JD and Drumma Boy (the Jamie Foxx song sounds better b/c it has a strong 808 base and multiple layers, Mary Mary’s beat is quite simple). Its not like they own the rights to that sound, but lets be honest. God doesn’t exist.
Blame it is not a new song. It was an industry song, floating around in Demo form for over a year before Jamie bought it, Usher and Mario passed on it.
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CarverTheGreat Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:18 am
ok, i was extreme with the word “blasphemous”…i do that sometimes…
what are the gospel rules on quasi-homosexual artists being featured on a gospel song? did latifah just open the door for the upcoming elton john gospel album f/ me’shell ndegeocello and kirk franklin?
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Remi Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:24 am
“what are the gospel rules on quasi-homosexual artists being featured on a gospel song?”
There are no gospel rules on that. People create their own standards to judge other people b/c it makes them feel as if they are “better” Christians. Either way, that has nothing to do with Mary Mary’s song.
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Remi Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:25 am
“what are the gospel rules on quasi-homosexual artists being featured on a gospel song?”
There are no “gospel rules” on that. People create their own standards to judge other people b/c it makes them feel as if they are “better” Christians. Either way, that has nothing to do with Mary Mary’s song.
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Slim Jackson Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:34 am
@Carver
I was actually wondering the exact same thing when I was watching the show. I didn’t wanna get attacked by mentioning it though.
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N.I.A. naturally.... Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:07 am
i was more entertained by the commentary on twitter (follow me, shameless plug) about the awards than the actual award show.
me too. whenever i LOLed, my sister asked me what was so funny, and we both guffawed at all of the hilarious commentary on twitter. it really did make the show that much better.
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I give BET a D for Do Better on the Awards show. Me thinketh a mini tribute would have worked a whole lot better than what they attempted to do in three days. Seriously the whole MJ tribute was lost mid-show. A lot of people were nit-picking (myself included) but in some cases it seemed justified.
Souljah Boy should have been exed out for a tribute…People were acting like they had no home training at the show…The whole bathroom nonsense was a hot mess…Can I get the job as the censor next year?…Was Drake injured?…
There were some good parts though: BBD, OJays, Beyonce, seeing the pink wonder woman (aka Keyshia Cole and Monica (although this should have been a solo for Monica).
Oh and Mary Mary came out with their album and song way before Blame It. But I will admit they sound very similar.
New rule: you cannot host, perform, win awards and all that. But seriously I think Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo were the best part of the show and helped it.
Was anyone else embarrassed by the whole Baby Boy fiasco? I can’t be bothered.
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Slim Jackson Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:05 am
The Ving Rhames moment was perhaps one of the top three most uncomfortable moments on the show…if not the most uncomfortable. No question about that. I sincerely thought they were about to fight…and he tried to compare Michael Jackson to Gunz. I don’t think anyone in the crowd co-signed that.lol.
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ASmith Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:57 am
Drake tore his ACL.
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Vanessa aka Miss V Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:28 am
yeah i was confused by that whole baby boy segment… and yes, it was super embarrassing.
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Some people have a real issue whenever any black person criticizes another…we should be critical about things that are supposedly for us and by us instead of just giving people a “I’m black and I’m proud” pass to act a fool. As for Ne-yo, he did a great job, but he does have a funny shaped head. If it wasn’t for him and the O’Jays tribute, that show would’ve a died a horrible death. Instead, it remained on life support….
but about the show…it was garbage. even if MJ had not passed, it still would’ve been just as bad. Actually, it probably would’ve bene worse. much much worse. It was an embarrassing display of foolishness. Add to that the bad production and the low buget feel of the show. You can’t blame that on the rush of a nearly non-existent MJ tribute. BET has been doing this show for some time now…it should be better.
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ASmith Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:59 am
You know what? I think the show would’ve been better sans the MJ stuff.
This is what happened when they attempted to give a tribute to Michael — this is what happened when they changed plans at the last minute and it was garbage. That’s why everyone should’ve stuck with what they were planning and then given Micheal a real and true tribute.
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Reecie Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I agree with you. obviously they can’t produce greatness on the fly. it wouldve been a solid C show without the fake “tributes”.
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Yea…the BET awards. I’ve heard of them, can’t say that I’ve ever tuned in. Wait…hold on, I got someone on the other line…
What’s that? The BET awards are aired on BET? Well then. Thanks for the info.
Yea, definitely missed the BET awards.
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The show had some bright spots, but was altogether awful. When Shaffer (Ne-Yo) almost single-handedly saves an awards show, something is very wrong. (I’m actually a huge Ne-Yo fan but he’s not exactly a headliner.)
I don’t know how Keith Sweat, Guy or BBD sounded because I was too busy wopping and runningmanning around my bedroom to hear them. And New Edition’s attempt at an opening tribute broke my heart. Loves me some NE but those guys needed inhalers.
Winning moment of the evening: Eddie’s “and shit.” In fact to represent my hometown I will be adding “and shit” to the end of my sentences throughout the day.
BET STAY losing and shit….
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Seattle Washington Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Wait, wait, wait. Did you just say you were too busy wopping to hear the BET Awards?
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Robin Monique Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 10:27 am
That segment? Yeah. I was in my own little world where it was 1990 and I had the meanest wop of all the Kindergarteners and 1st Graders. lol
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Seattle Washington Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Ahh OK. Well just for future reference, wops means something totally different up here in the Northeast. So when you said you were busy wopping, I thought you were bragging about your booming oratory skills. Which I thought was a TMI, but now sounds like something totally innocent. I hope so since you had a mean one when you were a child.
Anyway, just an FYI from your friend Seattle.
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Robin Monique Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Ewww! Dirty-minds out east I see! I was definitely referring to the popular 80′s dance “The Wop.” LOL!! Another reason why my lil country bumpkin self needs to stay in Cleveland…and shit.
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CHeeKZ can't stand the rain Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Since I have discovered the women I want to marry, I have wished that I was blessed with enough money to hire New Edition to perform at my wedding. All six members. At the Church.
After yesterday I will save some stacks and hire a cover band.
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I didn’t see the whole thing. Of what I saw, though, the show was very uninteresting, to say the least.
I can’t lie, I made an “ugh” sound when I first saw Ne-Yo was about to perform. But he slapped me in the face with how well he sang and how humbled he seemed.
Maxwell makes my life better.
I agree with Remi on the Gospel music thing. While I don’t particularly care for “urbanized” gospel, but I can support and appreciate their efforts to reach wider masses. Let’s be real: Pookie and ‘nem ain’t gon listen to “I Just Can’t Give Up Now” (a more traditional MaryMary song) and be moved. And let’s not pretend like the beats of the rap/hip-hop industry of today aren’t used and recycled. Of course, it can be argued that it’s not the same, but it is.
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OH I forgot….
Maxwell was great!! Absolutely fantastic…love that man.
As for Mary Mary, I’m not a fan of blurring the genres in regards to gospel and r&b/hip-hop. And truthfully, I don’t know if that’s really about reaching more people, or just making more money….
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Slim Jackson Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Aside from the Maxwell thing, I’m completely co-signing your comment. You have validated me.lol.
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Remi Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Whatever the reason, they are reaching more people with a more R&B style and why is it wrong for them to make more money? But they are Grammy award winning artists anyway, so they were already making money.
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N.I.A. naturally.... Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:50 am
nothing wrong with making money…Soulja Boy makes money, in fact he tells us in his song that he’s “gettin’ money.”
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Intellectual Hedonist Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Like my pastor once said in a Sunday sermon, “just cause its Gospel does not mean its Spiritual. Don’t get it twisted.” Yes he actually said twisted.
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N.I.A. naturally.... Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Exactly!!
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Remi Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
“just cause its Gospel does not mean its Spiritual. Don’t get it twisted.”
That doesn’t really mean much of anything b/c who is to judge what is “spiritual” and what is not. Your pastor is a pastor, but he is just a human being like the rest of us.
And as for making money, the problem isn’t money, it’s the value we as human beings place on money that is problematic.
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On another note, the best BET awards show was in 2003, when—fittingly enough—Michael Jackson came out to surprise James Brown (and the world) on stage with an amazing performance.
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1. Michael has only been dead for a few days and Joe Jackson was on the red carpet promoting his record label.
2. Keri Hilson’s performance looked more like a tribute to Grease than to Michael Jackson
3. Some of the jokes were horrible. “I want y’all to say ‘Guns is the BET Awards. Guns is Michael Jackson.” WTF?
4. Not only was Michael a singer, but he was an amazing dancer. Where was the dancing? Ciara? Chris Brown? Beyonce?
5. T-Pain drinking alcohol from a plastic red cup on stage with that atrocious chain around his neck.
6. Making Beyonce go back into the audience because something “incredible” was about to happen and then it turns out to be Jay-Z performing D.O.A. I thought something REALLY incredible was about to happen, like a REAL tribute to MJ.
7. I thought Ne-yo did a beautiful job with “Lady in My Life” but did he and Jamie really have to perform as many times as they did. Do we not have any other singers (old and new) out there? And Jamie promoted himself too much.
8. Tiny and Toya…ugh.
9. The sound man not knowing when to mute certain words. They failed miserably.
10. Drake and Lil Wayne performing “Every Girl” with CHILDREN on the stage. Seriously? And then to introduce Janet after that mess…
The only parts I liked were BBD/Guy, The O’Jays tribute (Tyrese killed it), and Maxwell.
BET should have just left the awards alone and did a separate tribute show if this is all they could come up with in three days. Heck, if Chris Brown, The Game, Diddy, Usher, and Boyz II Men could get together and do a song the same night that MJ died, then BET could have put together a better show in 3 days than what I saw last night.
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Toni Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:21 am
2. Lol I thought it was grease too.
3. That joke sent us back to the cotton fields.
7. You would have thought there were only two performers in the world who could do MJ justice.
8. I’m ready for my own show not if Toya, Tiny, Frankie, Neffie and nem can get one.
10. My people perish…
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N.I.A. naturally.... Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:28 am
2. i’m not sure what that was…
3. joke was horrible and inappropriate.
4. i agree, i would’ve loved to see Ciara dance instead of sing.
5. inappropriate
8. i’m still trying to figure out why BET is trying to make them relevant….
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I agree with most of that. Especially the “you’re not in a club” comment. Honestly, why can’t we act right? WHY?
To be fair, Mary Mary had that beat first. What I thought was unfortunate was how no one stood up (for real) until Queen got on stage. I love Queen Latifah
more thanas much as the next person, but dang… Jesus can’t get no love??Reply
Last night was no surprise. But I enjoyed the following…
All of Neyo’s performances… and his milk dud head, its cute on him. He did single handedly save the show or at least make it periodically bearable.
Beyonces dress and legs, no homo. She has reinspired me to get it together!!!!
JayZ’s performance… live music, a wide screen, and a true MC. Nice.
Jamie did a great job considering all the changes that were made to the show.
And of course Janet. I just cried, and cried this morning when ABC was showing the clip. My heart goes out to her.
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that sH*t was good and terrible… typical BLACK EXPLOITATION TV tho…
did someone on here atcually say Ciara sounded great ROTFLMMFBAO…she sounded horrible, she cannot sing…Keyshia got out sung on her own song, her outift was a Madonna reject, TACKY as he11…..
The segment with Ojays was drawn out and a lil awkward did Don C have a stroke or something???
just overall wackness…. not at all what MJ was about, his was actual talent, the man could SING and took dancing to another level and just EXCELLeNCE in performing..not this BS that passes as music and entertainment today.
Whats the hype about Drake again?
Oh yeah Co-sign on the Zoe comment among others SMH LOL
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CHeeKZ is getting real jealous of Drake Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:03 am
I thought Beyonce and Keri’s jersey were WAY to 80s. Are Yall bitches really going to bring back shoulder pads?
Monica’s dress look like Storm from the X-men Movies.
Easy on the Ojays buddy. Me and Your mamma make love to that kinda music and ended up with you. Show some respect.
Drake Drake Drake. Can we talk about all the looks that Drake had last night? How many times they showed him? Having no video out? No album release date? We aren’t even sure if he has signed to a label yet?!?! This guy is shouted out by Hov and Jamie Fox. Performs on stage, talks for an hour after the show with Big Tigger, Jamie and Queen Latifah LICKING HIS SACK! ALL THIS OFF A MIXTAPE! GOOD GOD! Have yall ever heard Mood Music 2 or We Got it for Cheap 2?! Those are mixtape that deserve this kind of buzz. People are sayig J Cole’s new mixtape is better than So Far Gone. YES I’M HATING!
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Seattle Washington Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Drake was made for the limelight. He’s an actor, sings (with Auto Tune), raps and he’s light skinned. While joints like “The Warm Up”, “Back to the Feature” and “We Got it For Cheap Vol. 2″, & Vol. 3 for that matter, deserve the spot light too, they ain’t going to like Drizzy is. Because he’s got the ultimate fan base – women.
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N.I.A. naturally.... Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Because he’s got the ultimate fan base – women.
funny you say that, b/c i first heard of Drake from guys I know. i don’t know any women who are into him…most of the ladies i know don’t even know him until I tell them he is Jimmy from Degrassi.
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Seattle Washington Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Rapping wise, I believe that he had dudes’ respect. However that “So Far Gone” mixtape was definitely geared to win over the ladies. Case in point – “Best I Ever Had” is his lead single.
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Nyela Goodness Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Same here. I heard of Drake from dudes ::cough Seattle cough:: and wasn’t the least bit impressed. I was actually confused as to what he was trying to accomplish. I won’t go so far (hehe) as to say he’s awful
though, I’d like to, but I had no interest in hearing his album/mix-tape/whatever again after the first listen.Reply
OrangeStar616 Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:55 am
young his eyes look as tho they have melted from the sockets and are sliding down his temple onto his cheeks, his mouf is large and funny looking…he got that bad end of that black/jewish mix for sure..he nots attractive and is so so on the mic…. has not an ounce of thoroughness about him in any regard etc I could on and on…ahh the youngins, and these young brawds are funny indeed LOL
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OrangeStar616 Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Hey I love the O’Jays LOL……
I am a hip hop head young, just don’t understand the scrotum riding of Drake, dude is just average at best from what I have heard, plus he lacks presence, some ol off brand lizard looking mofo…I just don’t get it!!!
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Slim Jackson Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:43 am
I think folks are just mad that Drake is really light-skinned. Women clearly like the dude, otherwise he wouldn’t be buzzing like this. Those who think he is sub-par are the same ones that…well…yeah, I gotta go.
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CHeeKZ doesn't feel the need to wear disguises around Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Slime stop rooting for Drake to bring light skinned people back in style. Its not happening.
Are you trying to tell me that the Drake/Young Money performace wasn’t HANDS DOWN the worst performance of the night?
I think Drake defenders are making the common mistake of equating his success to one thing. From what I can see women don’t find him that attractive, but love his voice and music.
Best I Ever Had wasn’t a single… people just requested it alot and he became a run away hit. Say Its Real was actually the first song released from the mixtape.
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@ Disappointed
I completely agree that BET should have just tabled the MJ tribute for another time. However, I can also understand the “pressure” to scrape something together last minute.
I also think that Drake is inappropriate solely because I can’t shake the image of him as Jimmy on Degrassi (if you recall the episode when he was cryin about not bein able to get it up. and now he can make a girl’s..you know..WHISTLE. i love how it comes full circle.)
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I just heard that Chris Brown practiced his routine for 3 days and BET pulled him at the last minute.
I think he would have killed it.
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CHeeKZ is intrigued?! Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:14 am
You have a source? This is juicy.
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ASmith Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Rumor is Jay-Z shut that down. I hope that’s not true, because regardless of his beef with CB, there’s only a few performers out there right now who could’ve done a REAL tribute to MJ and CB is one o f’em.
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Disappointed Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I heard Jay-Z had something to do with it. (I don’t know about that)
I also heard that Covergirl threatened to pull their sponsorship if they let CB perform.
I’m sure the real story will come out later this week.
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Rox Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
If CB is the only person who can do it RIGHT, let the man perform. When I watch a tribute, I want to be able to hear & see MJ, or whoever is being remembered, through the songs & dance being performed. That means I want to hear & see the people who can do it best. Who are Jay & Covergirl to deny us that… to deny MJ that. Pshhhh
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AS I drove into work this morning still seething that I can not reclaim the 3 hours and 40 minutes I spent watching the BET Awards, I realized what I was most bothered by. Two things actually.
1. WE KNOW BETTER! As in WE know that BET and the Black Entertainers in the industry could have done better. Where were the shoe in MJ tributes? Neyo on stage 4 or 5 times, is he the only Black Entertainer today that can professionally cover an MJ song? NO! The dance tributes were non existent, and New Edition as much as I love them it was horrible. It was great and Nostalgic to see them again, however poor Bobby looked bloated and Ricky’s mic wasnt even working and poor Ralph hasn’t had a high pitched voice since his testes grew in 25 years ago. They were just bad (and not bad meaning good). WE KNOW there are entertainers out there that could have ripped an honest to goodness standing ovation tribute. Where the hell were they.
2. EVERYONE was watching! CNN covered BET’s red carpet (better than BET did) EVERYONE was watching, people like me that have not watched BET in years; and this is the coonery BET decided to put forth.
I mean honestly I didnt expect much from BET. I expected to see most of the coonery I mean after all it is BET, but they hyped themselves up and this is what they gave the audience. And honestly I dont want to hear that they only had 3 days, cause you know what they are professionals and to hear them tell it they been doing this since birth so its no sweat. So for me it was a major FAIL!!!!
jut my .08
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ASmith Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:20 am
I agree wholeheartedly.
BET knows better.
And Jamie SAID it from jump. If anyone was going to, no NEEDED to do MJ right, it was BET and they failed so bad.
This morning should’ve included a FLURRY of phone calls trying to pull a tribute show together. No autotune, no fake performing. Get it right, get it tight.
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N.I.A. naturally.... Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:28 am
i agree completely. I never watch BET, and I was actually looking forward to a Michael Jackson tribute. hell, i even told my mother to tune in. smh. “I’m sorry momma.”
Last night, BET didn’t even reach my lowest expectations….
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This was my huge problem with this show.
CNN and other reputable news organizations were out on that red carpet in full force. They were interviewing people, and bringing a lot of attention to the BET show. We all know that CNN brings in a lot of viewers and BET had an opportunity to win over a totally new demographic. They totally blew it.
I hated that CNN viewers would turn to the BET award show and see this “Black Entertainment.” I hate that people are saying, Well they had to change this last minute, so it was hard. I’m sorry…I don’t care. Your end product is all that matters because that is all that we’re viewing. If you couldn’t make this show work, and work smoothly, even though it was only 3 days, then some people need to be fired. You could simplify certain elements, change others to make it work and work well, and the average audience member wouldn’t even know the difference. I don’t know what their aim was but they failed, and failed us miserably, and I will complain as much as I want.
Also, that video with Shenene and Jamie Fox…are you serious? Like, let’s get it together. That had no place in an awards show. It was embarrassing. Like let’s just paint our faces black and lips red and do a dance already? And the part that pissed me off the MOST…I’ve seen Jamie Foxx and Taraji and all these other people at the Grammy Awards, at the Emmy Awards, at the Academy Awards. They acted with dignity and poise. Yet…you come on the BET award show to represent us, and you’re yelling, putting on your best bird/pigeon accent and shouting out Baby Boy?! You’re speaking with whatever Broken English you assume all black people want to hear and keep it moving. I was disgusted. BET is a failure.
Sorry for the Rant guys.
We expect more. Black people are not a bunch of ignorant fools that find this sub-par entertainment acceptable. BET needs to raise its standards and change how we are respresented to the world. Unfortunately, the way the world works, we as
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Seattle Washington Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Word.
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Streetz: Mr Write Now Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Shenanae and Wanda was hilarious. Im sorry i must no-sign that it was a great skit. sktis are a part of all awards show and it worked.
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CHeeKZ Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
I co-sign your No-sign (a 3WTKI first). I mean MTV just stuck a naked man’s butt in one of the greatest rappers of all time’s face. The jokes weren’t that bad.
The baby boy skit was fine UNTIL Ving Rhames.
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Reecie Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
exactly. MTV has been doing skits at awards shows for years. that promo was a highlight for me (even though I missed it and had to catch it online).
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Rox Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
“We expect more. Black people are not a bunch of ignorant fools that find this sub-par entertainment acceptable. BET needs to raise its standards and change how we are respresented to the world.”
As I say in my post later, Black people, in my opinion, are the most diversely talented ppl in the world. Our stars ARE CAPABLE of being classy, witty, clever, charismatic, sexy, soulful…anything & everything!!! Why can’t we collectively show that, at the least, at an awards show at which we are celebrating who we condone as the best of the best?
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D Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I hear what you guys are saying, but there’s a huge difference between MTV doing a tasteless skit, and BET doing one at an awards show. When someone on MTV flies around in a thong and lands in another guy’s face, that’s viewed as “funny”. It’s like…ohhh Sasha (or whatever his name is) is a great comedian…hahahah. He is not viewed as a representation of every White person in America. When we dress up like shenene etc, it’s viewed as, this is how black people actually are and they are representing all of us. Not saying that I agree with the stereotyping, and I’m definitely not saying that its right for people to see a skit and say that entire group is a certain way…BUT…that’s just the way it is and has been for a while. That’s just how it is, so we should be cognisant of this when producing such shows.
Also, MTV is one station, but there are 100 others that will give you another “kind of show” to give you another perspective. Country Music Awards, Grammys, Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Emmy Awards, Sundance etc etc etc…the list goes on and on. BET is quite honestly, all that we have. If BET was one of 50 stations that produced different award shows that were black tie, and others that were of a different caliber, then this conversation probably wouldn’t be happening. But it isn’t and for a cable station that knows they are the only station on the air that’s represnting Black people, they should hold themselves more accountable for their programming, and so should we.
I’m glad you guys enjoyed the skit though. I would have probably enjoyed it if it was shown in a different venue. When it came on, I was just embarrassed.
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All I know is Beyonce (who I love, no matter what) WAS the Mardi Gras and she is gone have chicks everywhere erroneously rockin shoulder pads. All out at night clubs looking like linebackers in minidresses… Leave that shit to Bea Arthur ‘nem on “Golden Girls”.
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Intellectual Hedonist Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:30 am
oh and about Miss Bey…
my mom (who has lived in this country for 35 years and was active in my young fandom with MJ ,watched the show with me)
She was so offended that Bey would sing “The Ave Maria” (let us not forget that Ave Maria is an actual prayer) in her “bathing suit” on a national stage. My mother called down all the saints and did everything but pull out the holy water and blessed oil to throw at the TV when Bey was singing. It was just blasphemous
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N.I.A. naturally.... Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:36 am
her rendition of Ave Maria in her swimsuit/wedding dress was seriously upsetting. my soul died and is now buried next to the body of Luciano Pavarotti….
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Intellectual Hedonist Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:54 am
THANK YOU! cause I seriously want to strangle people when they say “ooh Bey can sing that song” My response is NO! she can not, y’all need to hear Luciano, or Maria Callas or the woman that sang it at my cousin’s wedding. That song will bring tears to a grown man’s eyes when it is performed properly and Beyonce, NO just NO!
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I personally love the Mary Mary song. I think because Blame It came out first, folks are gonna associate at it with that, but I love the message of the song.
on the rest of the show–the MJ “tributes” were lackluster , except Neyo’s in the beginning, and while I expected much more, I was entertained all night.
I so wish NE wouldve sounded better! I love them!
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Rox Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I have convinced myself that New Edition just wasn’t prepared. Ralph didn’t get a proper warm up, & Ricky doesn’t sing that high!!! Otherwise I think they were perfect for the job as they were created in the image of J5.
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Reecie Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
yeah, I agree with you.
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Ciara and Beyonce are two great performers…the key word being PERFORMERS. They really can’t go up on stage and just be singing, there are tons of better voices out there.
Am I the only one that thought when Jamie made all the hype about sitting Beyonce down, that MJ was just going to pop out and be like, SURPRISE! I’m still here yall.
Joe Jackson is shameful…
I understand that it was out of some sort of respect, but Ne-Yo needed to seriously limit the amount of time he was hatless. People like him and LL Cool J just can’t be doing stuff like that.
I really like Drake, like I’ve been following him since he did some of his rapping on Degrassi. However, after last night I can conclude that he’s pretty wack. Even if his ACL was torn, he’s just not a good performer. His flow is nice, but he can’t go on stage shouting out what he originally sung with AutoTune wearing a cardigan. What he needs to do is sit his butt down in the studio, produce a record, and creep out from beneath Lil’ Wayne’s nasty nuts. Why were Lil’ Wayne’s children on stage when they were rapping about fing every girl in the world?…shameful.
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Rox Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
“Am I the only one that thought when Jamie made all the hype about sitting Beyonce down, that MJ was just going to pop out and be like, SURPRISE! I’m still here yall.”
I mean, or something like that!? Lol
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Reecie Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I thought the exact same. Or that Janet was gonna come out then. His brothers or something. that was so lame how Jamie did that.
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Vanessa aka Miss V Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
yeah i agree… i thought the jackson family was going to come out or something. i think she was thinking the same because when she realized it was jay z, she didn’t look as excited….
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With only 3 days of prep, I feel that BET did what they literally could – but I should prob say, too, that even after considering its best moments, I’ve never been impressed with the BET awards. See, after seeing Motown 25, which was also MJ’s debut of the moonwalk (my mom has it recorded on Beta circa 1983), a million times, no musical showcase has even come close to impressing me. Actually, I was’t even surprised to see that all the old heads, the motown greats, outperformed and out sang the young folk last night. Where did we go wrong?
What I did love: Jamie’s wardrobe, his Beat It rendition, Every NeYo moment – especially when he was paying THE MAN respect by taking off his hat, BBD, the O’Jays, & Janet, who in no way was obligated to be there – she truly blessed us with her presence.
What confused the hell out of me: Beyonce’s performance – every aspect of it. It wasn’t a wedding, a christening or Christmas; I really have no idea what Ave Maria had to do with BET or MJ for that matter. I guess her costume went with the song??? But either way, made no sense & detracted from the show.
What embarrassed me to no end: seeing the children on stage during ‘Every Girl.” Period. WTF!?!?!?!?!?
I do want to be entertained by awards shows, but I also want to be PROUD of all the artists and celebs who step out and perform on them, not just a few. I think the BET awards stay exploiting most of our artists’ talents. If you can’t sing AND dance, don’t – pick one (would’ve much rather seen Ciara do a dance tribute, than an MJ song, and I love Keri, but she prob shouldn’t be dancing). If you’re not good at telling jokes, don’t – & resorting to coonery isn’t the biz in 2009. I want to see organization, coherence, wit, humor, class (Tiny & Toya???), ETC.!!!… shiiii, I want to see that from our black folk steppin’ into the spotlight regardless. THEY ARE CAPABLE!!!! Black people, in my opinion, are the most diversely talented ppl in the world. & I don’t want to knock the hard work that went into producing the show as I am sure it’s not easy, but we can do better, & I really don’t see anything wrong with criticizing it.
Lastly, at the heart of it all, I believe it was absolutely right and necessary for BET to have paid tribute to MJ; without MJ the network prob wouldn’t exist. However, if you haven’t seen it, PLEASE watch Motown 25 – it was absolutely amazing. & you’ll see just how classy & almost regal our artists used to be. I also think the production team behind Motown 25, or one of such caliber, should be charged with putting together a REAL tribute show for Michael. I think they should have nothing but “real things” performing his music (I would love to see more NeYo, Tyrese, Maxwell, Beyonce, and other big hitters, but I also think they should dig up as many motown legends who are still around and able too) & paying him homage, telling his stories, and showing him the love and respect he deserves. It needs to be classy, & people need to be dressed to the nines.
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OrangeStar616 Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Honey that is exactly what I am talking about I saw motown 25 live, may have been about 9 years old.. butI remember, I remember when people actually had to have talent before they took a stage, where it wasn’t minimal, gimmicky, and basically exposing your a** to sell a record, but the excellence of your artistry….. and as a whole in a way I felt like that died along time ago but officially somehow with MJ..I’m talking just being the complete package as an artist, you know, most know nothing of that, have no artistic integrity just about money and it shows…..
There are a few new folk like Janelle Monae that know and emplify what I speak of, most haven’t clue and thats whats sad……fame is given out today on any PC, any BS reality TV program, any half a** bs effort….it isn’t paid for in dance rehersal, vocal lessons, acting classes, honed, shaperned, perfected anymore, its paid for now with the cheapness of scandal, sex and otherwise not talent…… and truly thats whats sad
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