BET Awards Return Sunday Night, Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop

FILE – Signage appears at the BET Awards in Los Angeles on June 26, 2022. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
FILE – Signage appears at the BET Awards in Los Angeles on June 26, 2022. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
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BET Awards Return Sunday Night, Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop

FILE – Signage appears at the BET Awards in Los Angeles on June 26, 2022. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
FILE – Signage appears at the BET Awards in Los Angeles on June 26, 2022. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

The BET Awards return Sunday night, with a performance-filled show that promises to celebrate 50 years of hip-hop.

The show, which takes place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, will feature a tribute to hip-hop's most significant moments, as curated by Kid Capri. Patti Labelle will also pay tribute to the late Tina Turner, The Associated Press said.

The show begins at 8 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast on BET, BET HER and numerous Paramount channels including Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1. It was also livestream on BET.com

Drake leads the nominations, with seven: He’s up for best male hip-hop artist and male R&B/pop artist, as well as a few shared titles, including best collaboration and viewer’s choice with Future and Tems for their song “Wait for U." Drake is also nominated for album of the year and best group for his collaboration with 21 Savage, “Her Loss," and viewer’s choice for their hit “Jimmy Cooks.”

Lizzo and 21 Savage are tied for the second-most noms, with five each.

Busta Rhymes will take home the Lifetime Achievement Award — one of the highest honors at the ceremony, given to Sean “Diddy” Combs at last year's ceremony. The 12-time Grammy Award nominated rapper, producer, and pioneering hip-hop figure is widely regarded as one of the great MCs, with seven Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits to his name.

Bia, Coi Leray, Cutty Ranks, Dexta Daps, M.O.P., Rah Digga, ScarLip, Spice, Supercat, and Swizz Beatz are scheduled to pay tribute to Rhymes.

It’s one of several moments that will honor the legacy of hip-hop, which BET has supported for decades through shows like “Rap City” and “106 & Park.”

Other performers at the 2023 BET Awards include Chief Keef, DJ Unk, E-40, Fast Life Yungstaz & Easton (F.L.Y.), Fat Joe, Soulja Boy, The Sugarhill Gang, Tyga, Ying Yang Twins and Yo-Yo.

 



Marrakech Film Festival Opens in Morocco with 'The Order'

FILE -A view of the venue of the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)
FILE -A view of the venue of the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)
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Marrakech Film Festival Opens in Morocco with 'The Order'

FILE -A view of the venue of the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)
FILE -A view of the venue of the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)

One of the Middle East and North Africa's largest film festivals opened Friday in Morocco, drawing actors and directors from throughout the world to present 70 features from 32 countries.
The Marrakech International Film Festival, now in its 21st year, will showcase Oscar contenders and screen films for members of the public. But unlike larger festivals in Venice, Cannes or Toronto, it places unique emphasis on emerging directors and films from the Middle East and Africa.
The roster of actors and directors who will participate in this year’s conversations and tributes includes Sean Penn, Alfonso Cuaron and David Cronenberg.
Remi Bonhomme, the festival's artistic director, said what makes the festival unique is its ability to draw talent on par with the world's largest festivals while also spotlighting up-and-coming directors from Morocco, the Middle East and Africa.
“We pay a lot of attention to countries that are underrepresented in cinema,” he said. “We support filmmakers who have their own voice, who develop a story that is in a specific context, whether it is Iran, Morocco or the US."
“But they don’t have to be the voice of their country. They have the need to have the freedom to express their own personal vision,” he added.
Among the themes that Bonhomme is excited about in this year's films is family. Filmmakers, including “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” director Mohammad Rasoulof, are “exploring social and political impact through the scale of a family,” Bonhomme said.
The festival opens Friday with “The Order” — a thriller starring Jude Law that chronicles an FBI manhunt for the leader of a white supremacist group.
The jury competition contains 14 first or second films. The nine-person jury includes actors Jacob Elordi and Andrew Garfield as well as Ali Abbasi, the Iranian-Danish director of “The Apprentice.” Luca Guadagnino will preside over the jury.
The films in competition include Saïd Hamich's “Across the Sea” about a young Moroccan man's immigration to Marseille and Damian Kocur's “Under the Volcano,” Poland's Oscar entry for Best International Feature.
The festival — founded by Morocco's King Mohammed VI and is presided over by his brother Prince Moulay Rachid — plays a major role in showcasing and promoting Moroccan films and directors.