海角大神

Beyonc茅 used her platform Sunday while accepting the BET humanitarian award to relay a direct appeal to viewers: Go vote.

鈥淵our voices are being heard and you鈥檙e proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain,鈥� said the superstar singer at the BET Awards, which celebrated its 20 years of highlighting excellence in Black-led entertainment. But the ceremony, filmed virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, kept much of its focus on topics such as systematic racism and equal rights.

Beyonc茅 was honored for her philanthropic work and relief efforts during the COVID-19 crisis. She said voting in the upcoming election was the way to end a 鈥渞acist and unequal system鈥� in America.

鈥淚鈥檓 encouraging you to take action,鈥� she said following an introduction by former first lady Michelle Obama.

The singer dedicated her award to the Black Lives Matter movement, and encouraged activists to continue to push forward.

鈥淲e have to vote like our lives depend on it, because it does,鈥� she said.

Here are some additional highlights from the three-hour show broadcast on CBS, BET, and BET Her:

DaBaby's message

Rapper DaBaby lay on the pavement while an actor playing a police officer pressed his knee on the rapper鈥檚 neck.

The reenactment at the beginning of the multi-platinum rapper's performance offered a glimpse into the last moments of the聽life of George Floyd,聽killed by Minneapolis police last month. DaBaby rapped a verse from the Black Lives Matter remix of his hit song 鈥淩ockstar鈥� with Roddy Ricch at the awards.

While holding a baseball bat, DaBaby then stood on a stage behind a group of people who had their fists raised high while others held 鈥淏lack Lives Matter鈥� signs.

His performance also featured images from protests, a reflection of the current world in the wake of Mr. Floyd鈥檚 death and the deaths of others, including聽Breonna Taylor聽and聽Ahmaud Arbery.

Weezy honors Kobe

On a virtual stage, Lil Wayne paid tribute to the Black Mamba.

The rapper honored the late Kobe Bryant with a performance of his song 鈥淜obe Bryant,鈥� highlighting the NBA icon鈥檚 biggest moments. He paid tribute to聽Mr.聽Bryant who died in a helicopter crash in January that killed eight others, including his daughter, Gianna.

Lil Wayne weaved in new lyrics as Mr.聽Bryant鈥檚 No. 8 and 24 flashed behind him. His performance showed video clips of the Los Angeles Lakers star dunking on Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, hitting game-winning shots, and highlights from his 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors in 2006.

鈥淚 call him King Bryant,鈥� Lil Wayne rapped. 鈥淣ow let the crown show.鈥�

Little Richard bop

Wayne Brady transformed from his normal actor-comedian self into the flamboyant character of the late Little Richard.

Wearing a gold glittery tuxedo, Mr.聽Brady put on his best emulation during a tribute to Little Richard,聽who died in May. He rolled around on the top of a piano as he sung a medley hits from Richard, considered one of the chief architects of rock 鈥檔鈥� roll.

鈥淪hut up!鈥� Mr.聽Brady blurted out in the same manner as Little Richard. Some of the聽hits that Mr. Brady performed included 鈥淟ucy,鈥� 鈥淕ood Golly, Miss Molly,鈥� and 鈥淭utti Frutti.鈥�

Mad Stallion

Megan Thee Stallion took to the desert in a performance themed after the 鈥淢ad Max鈥� films.

Sporting a feathered crop top, she danced alongside her dancers who wore masks and maintained social distance amid the coronavirus pandemic. She performed her Beyonc茅-assisted hit 鈥淪avage Remix鈥� and 鈥淕irls in the Hood,鈥� a revamp of Easy E鈥檚 1987 song 鈥淏oyz-N-The Hood.鈥�

In the post-apocalyptic setting, she and her dancers rode through the desert landscape on dusty ATVs. The rapper closed out her performance after jumping on a silver-spike vehicle.

Megan Thee Stallion鈥檚 performance came after she聽won best female hip-hop artist.

Stirring opening

It didn鈥檛 take long for host Amanda Seales to touch on equal rights for African Americans.

In a stirring monologue, Ms. Seales said she was chosen to host the show because she鈥檚 been 鈥渢elling y鈥檃ll everybody鈥檚 racist.鈥� She touched on several topics including the death of Breonna Taylor, racial equality, and took a jab at actor Terry Crews who faced recent backlash for his 鈥淏lack supremacy鈥� comment.

Ms. Seales joked she would rather talk about issues other than race, but 鈥渞acism always beats me to it.鈥�

Her monologue came after an all-star performance of Public Enemy鈥檚 1989 anthem 鈥淔ight the Power.鈥� The performance featured group members Chuck D and Flavor Flav along with Nas, Black Thought, Rapsody, and YG 鈥� who added lyrics to the song and name-dropped Ms. Taylor.

During the performance, video clips were shown of the聽national protests over the deaths of unarmed Black people including Mr. Floyd, Mr. Arbery, and Ms. Taylor.

The young sensation Keedron Bryant聽also performed in a cappella 鈥淚 Just Wanna Live,鈥� a song about being a young black man that earned him a record deal.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.

Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.