The Top 10 Moments From the 2025 BET Awards

The 2025 BET Awards featured heartfelt speeches, high-wattage performances and a wave of 2000s era nostalgia. With the pre-show and red carpet kicking off at 6pm EST, the awards ceremony began live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles at 8pm; host Kevin Hart opened things with some digs at the Diddy trial, Jamie Foxx’s health and Kanye West–all while working in a Sinners reference. Co-hosts throughout the night included DC Youngfly and MC Lyte, with Cam Newton and Ashley Nicole Moss announcing the launch of the sports-themed spinoff show 106 & Sports.

There was no shortage of strong performances by GloRilla, Lil Wayne (“Welcome To Tha Carter,” “A Milli”), Playboi Carti, Teyana Taylor (“Long Time”), and Ledisi (“BLKWMN”), Leon Thomas (“Mutt”) and Mariah Carey hit the stage alongside Anderson. Paak, D-Nice and Rakim to perform her new single, “Type Dangerous.” Heartfelt tributes to Angie Stone (Brittney Spencer), Quincy Jones (Luke James, MIles Canton and Lucky Daye), and Roberta Flack (Audra Day.) And Hart was center stage for a Real Husbands of Hollywood reunion with Nick Cannon, Boris Kodjoe, Duane Martin, Robin Thicke and JB Smoove.

The show paid tribute to four Ultimate Icon honorees: Dr. Dre honored his longtime collaborator Snoop Dogg; Busta Rhymes gave an extended salute to Mariah Carey; gospel innovator Kirk Franklin was honored; as was award-winning singer/actor/comedian Jamie Foxx.

Here are the 10 best moments of the night, ranked.

10. Snoop Dogg Runs Through the Classics
After an intro from his compatriot Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg took the stage to thank his collaborators, fellow honorees and family–in particular his wife, Shante Broadus. The Doggfather then rocked the crowd with a run of classic hits like “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” with guests ranging from Charlie Wilson to Kurupt and Warren G sharing the spotlight.

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9. Tyler Perry’s Speech
Tyler Perry spoke at length about the power of Black storytelling. While introducing Ledisi, Perry talked about the current political pushback against diversity and equity efforts across the country. “They think if our children don’t know our history they won’t know our power,” he said while stating that we all have to prioritize leaving footprints for others to follow–before a soul stirring performance of “BLKWMN” by Ledisi.

8. Playboi Carti Bodies "Like Weezy" Performance
Taking the stage with Lil Wayne in the audience, Playboi Carti lived up to his popular Music song title when he served up an electric performance of "Like Weezy" for the audience. Just peep the crowd; even Kendrick was feeling the vibes.

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7. Mariah Carey, Rakim and Anderson.Paak on “Type Dangerous”
D-Nice kicked things off by bringing viewers into Club Mariah with a sampler of her hits, then the diva herself took the stage with Anderson .Paak on drums to perform her new single “Dangerous Type.” Rakim made a surprise appearance to rap his verse from Eric B. & Rakim‘s classic single “Eric B. Is President,” which is sampled heavily in “Type Dangerous.”

6. Kendrick Lamar wins Album Of The Year
KDot won Best Male Hip-Hop Artist, Video of the Year for “Not Like Us” and Best Collaboration with SZA for “Luther.” He also shared the award for video director of the year with his longtime creative partner Dave Free. And the Compton emcee took home the award for Album Of The Year, with host Kevin Hart acknowledging how big a run KDot is currently on. Lamar recognized BET for the role the platform has played in his career from the very beginning.

5. Bow Wow, Ashanti and T.I. Headline Tribute to 106 & Park
Recognizing 25 years since its 2000 debut, beloved BET staple 106 & Park was celebrated with a lineup of past hosts that included Terrence J and “Free” Marie Wright, as well as an opening medley of Y2K era chart-toppers like Ashanti, Jim Jones, Amerie, Bow Wow, Mya, T.I. and a surprise B2K reunion.

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4. Doechii Calls Out Trump
While accepting her award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, Doechii gave a shoutout to the importance of the awards (“This is my first BET award, so this means a lot to me. I grew up watching this.”) and called out the current administration and political climate. “There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities,” she said, while urging people to advocate and protest. “What type of government is that?”

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3. Kirk Franklin Ends the Night on a Godly high

The gospel superstar spoke about faith and music’s ability to heal as he accepted one of the night’s Ultimate Icon awards. Then Franklin took the stage to perform a medley of hits alongside Tamar Braxton, Muni Long, Jamal Roberts and Salt from Salt-N-Pepa–proof positive that nobody in gospel blends eras or genres better.

2. Stepping back into The Basement
Big Tigger’s run on Rap City was recognized with a throwback to the show’s classic freestyle booth segments. With a special appearance from Kid Capri, Ludacris made a surprise appearance to remind anyone who needed it that he’s got one of the most revered appearances on the original show. And of course, Kevin Hart made an appearance to spoof the show.

1. Jamie Foxx Goes for The Heart

Stevie Wonder was on-hand to present multi-hyphenate Jamie Foxx with one of the night’s Ultimate Icon awards. Foxx took the opportunity to be both heartfelt about his health issues (“You can’t go through something like that and testify”) and hilariously poke fun at his longtime friend Stevie. Funnyman Craig Robinson introduced Babyface and Ludacris; with Tank and Jennifer Hudson performing Ray Charles’ hits in recognition of Foxx’s award-winning performance as the iconic singer. Doug E. Fresh, Teddy Riley and T-Pain also powered through an energetic rendition of Foxx’s smash “Blame It.”

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