MetroLyrics Blog

The BET Awards, 2010 edition, went on last night from Los Angeles, California. The show had a number of highlights: some were good, some were bad, and some were ugly.

The major highlight, for me at least, had to be the undisputed return of Kanye West.  The ever-controversial musician has been hiding in some sort of cave for the last, oh, nine months or so. But for the first time since Swift-gate, he’s been popping up with small appearances and album release rumors.

First, it was the Internet leak of the first single off of his upcoming album, Good Ass Job, entitled, “Power,” which signaled a welcome return to Kanye’s original rap style. Then, West made a surprise appearance during Jay-Z’s Isle of Wight Festival set (the video of which you need to watch here, and I dare you to try and not to get chills when you hear over 100,000 people go nuts as they realize just exactly what is going on). And finally, last night West surfaced again with a triumphant return when he gave the first televised performance of  the song, “Power,” to open the 2010 BET Awards. Here’s the video, which shows him performing on a massive, erupting, fake volcano, with what is reportedly a giant chain of the Egyptian God, Horus, hanging around his neck. Whatever god complex he’s trying to communicate, I don’t care. Welcome back, Mr. West.

Prince receieved the lifetime achievement award last night, so as part of that honor, a number of artists took turns performing tribute covers of his classic songs. The best, without question, came from Janelle Monae with her rendition of “Let’s Go Crazy.” With any luck, this performance, along with her recently released debut album, Archandroid (a shoe-in to be one of 2010′s best albums), can get Monae some deserved exposure. Check out the performance, complete with crazy dance footwork, in the video below.

Speaking of crazy footwork, the former teen-idol turned bad-boy, Chris Brown, gave an unbelievable Michael Jackson tribute performance. Say what you want about how big of a trash bag the guy is, but man, can this kid dance. His moves are so MJ-like it’s jaw dropping. But, the mood changed by the end of the performance when Brown broke into tears during his performance of Michael’s classic, “Man in the Mirror.”  Something about turning a tribute performance into a self-serving, publicity stunt to recover a public image feels a little sour, and it’s quite possibly what was going on here. I have to say, the tears do seem genuine, but is he crying simply due to the realization that his career will never be what it once was? I’ll never know. You can draw your own conclusion.

Otherwise, Drake won the award for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist. He performed a couple tracks, first alone and then with Young Jeezy. It’s nothing special, but here it is if you feel the need to watch it.