LOS ANGELES — Kendrick Lamar celebrated a host of 2025 BET Awards victories, with the Compton rapper taking home four major prizes, including Album of the Year, Best Male Hip Hop Artist, Video of the Year for the viral smash “Not Like Us” and Best Collaboration alongside SZA for their track “Luther.”
Lamar also shared Video Director of the Year honors with longtime creative partner Dave Free.
Going into the June 9 ceremony, Lamar led all nominees with 10 nominations, while Doechii, Drake, Future and GloRilla all had six.
The awards honor individuals who contribute to Black culture as writers, musicians, filmmakers, philanthropists and more.
Lamar beat out his rival Drake and other nominees in the Album of the Year category for “GNX.”
SZA was named Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, while Chris Brown was named Best Male R&B/Pop Artist.
Future and Metro Boomin won Best Group. Doechii won Best Female Hip Hop Artist.
Hosted by Kevin Hart, the ceremony took place at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles amid ongoing protests against federal immigration enforcement that brought much of the downtown area to a standstill, and those events did not go unnoticed on stage.
“As much as I’m honored by this award, I do want to address what’s happening right now outside of the building,” Doechii said while accepting her Best Female Hip Hop Artist trophy.
“There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities. … Trump is using military forces to stop a protest, and I want y’all to consider what kind of government it appears to be, when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us,” she added.
Singer Mariah Carey, rapper/producer Snoop Dogg, Oscar and Grammy winner Jamie Foxx and gospel legend Kirk Franklin were presented with BET Ultimate Icon Awards during the event. The award honors “decades of groundbreaking contributions to music, entertainment, advocacy, and community impact.”
Previous recipients of the BET Ultimate Icon Award include Janet Jackson, Deborah L. Lee and Tyler Perry.
The show also featured a 25th anniversary tribute to the music video countdown show “106 & Park,” featuring a reunion of former hosts AJ Calloway, Free Marie Wright, Julissa Bermudez, Keshia Chanté, Rocsi Diaz and Terrence J.
The tribute also featured performances from previous host Bow Wow, Amerie, B2K, Jim Jones, Mya and T.I.
