4 THINGS THAT MADE BET AWARDS 2010 GREAT

Written by Ayomide Tayo

Come on people, did you think we weren't going to say anything about the just concluded BET Awards.

The awards have come and gone and yes we know that none of our boys- M.I and P-Square didn't win but hey there is still a lot to take out from the BET Awards.

1. Yeah, even though M.I and P-Square lost out to Dizzee Rascal, the fact that Nigerian artistes were nominated for such a prestigious international award says a lot about the quality of Nigerian music. Now who knows, if we had a proper music industry maybe we wont be celebrating nominations but us winning as well.

2. He was the outcast of the music industry. Life has never been the same for Chris Brown after he beat up his then girlfriend, Rihanna. After the ugly incident, Chris Brown's recording career has spiraled down. His album was blacklisted from several major retail outlets and several radio stations refused to play his song. Even after apologising several times, his apology was deemed insincere by the media and the public. He wasn't even allowed to perform at MJ's memorial service last year because of the incident.

After a turbulent year, Chris Brown was allowed to pay homage to his idol, Michael Jackson. He nailed the tribute performance but that was not the talking point. After dancing to several of MJ's hits he was supposed to sing Man In The Mirror. However as he clutched the microphone his voice was replaced by tears. The lyrics of the hit song served as an emotional release for Chris Brown. His tears seemed to wash away his sins and judging from the response of the crowd and the review afterwards indicates that Chris Brown is on his way back to the top.

3. Kanye West. This year's awards did not witness any tantrum from 'Yeezy, thank goodness. This year the focus was on his performance. We all know Kanye for all his elaborate performances with his string ochestra, extravagant sets and heavy use of pyros. BET Awards 2010 saw Kanye go all minimalist. Performing his new single "Power', Kanye stood on top of a mountain peak with just a standing mic- which made him lool like Moses- and delivered arguably his most memorable performance.

4. Female emcees lately have been a rare specie, but with the emergence of Young Money's queen- Nicki Minaj. Her entry into the rap game has galvanized the once dormant female scene. At the awards she went home with three awards- Best New Act, Best Female Hip Hop Artiste and Best Group with Young Money. Not only is she putting much needed spark into the female game but she is beginning to show that she has what it takes to lead it.