Canada’s Drake and The Weeknd failed to win Sunday night at the BET Awards, which were held in L.A. and hosted by SNL’s Leslie Jones.
Drake lost Best Male Hip-Hop Artist to Kendrick Lamar, but he was in good company — other nominees included Chance The Rapper and Future.
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist went to Bruno Mars instead of The Weeknd.
The night’s big winner was Béyonce, who earned five awards including Album of the Year (for Lemonade) and Best Female R&B/Pop Artist. The new mom of twins was, of course, not at the show.
In a bit of a shocker, Nicki Minaj lost Best Female Hip-Hop Artist to Remy Ma, who thanked two correctional facilities in her speech. “You can make mistakes and come back,” she said.
Chance The Rapper, who took home the Best New Artist award, was also honoured with the Humanitarian Award.
“It feels a little early to be getting something like this,” said the 24-year-old, “but my God doesn’t make mistakes.”
Highlights of the BET Awards included a reunion by Xscape, who performed a medley of hits, and the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to New Edition. The latter used the opportunity to announce a tour later this year.
There were also tributes to some of the artists lost in the past year, including Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy.