Snubs and Surprises at the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards

Kendrick Lamar was the big winner at the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards, winning in four categories – hip-hop artist of the year, best live performer, lyricist of the year and, with his creative partner Dave Free, video director of the year.

The BET Hip Hop Awards, hosted by Fat Joe, were taped last week at the Cobb Energy Center in Atlanta and aired on BET on Tuesday (Oct. 10). There will be an encore airing Tuesday at midnight ET on BET.

Lamar wasn’t the only big winner at the show. Two successful collaborations, Drake & 21 Savage and Lil Durk featuring J. Cole, each won two awards, as did Lil Uzi Vert and Metro Boomin. Winning one award each were Ice Spice, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Black Sherif, Caresha Please (best hip hop platform) and the aforementioned Dave Free.

LL Cool J and Rakim performed a special tribute to Marley Marl, this year’s I Am Hip Hop Award winner, alongside Jazzy Jeff, DJ Technician and the Adam Blackstone Band. The show also featured a 30th anniversary tribute to So So Def and its founder Jermaine Dupri. This year’s cypher, presented by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, was deejayed by DJ E Feezy and DJ Runna.

Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes, a South African rapper who was murdered in February at age 35, was honored with the Global Visionary Award for his impact on the global hip-hop landscape.

While the strong showings by Lamar and these others were largely expected, there were some snubs and surprises, too. Take a look.