The BET Awards aired at the Staples Center last night, and, fittingly, the best young star in rap, and Compton native—Kendrick Lamar—gave the best televised performance of his career. The good kid made the smart move to start his set with “M.A.A.d City,” a vicious banger that has quickly become a highlight of his live shows. (Following crowd reactions to the song while Lamar has toured has reminded me a bit of the latter days of the Watch the Throne tour, when you'd check concert recaps to see if Jay-Z and Kanye played “Paris” 15 or 20 times. Just look at how a London crowd reacted six months ago. Or West Palm last month. That's a fucking jam.) He followed with “Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe,” and it was nice to see that the Erykah Badu is still as mysteriously hot as in the “Mama's Gun” days.
Then, there was this guy. THIS GUY.
The Robert Sylvester Kelly performance featured pyrotechnics, dozens of singers pacing the aisles of the Staples Center, but, sadly, zero verses from “Trapped in the Closet.” It was still legendary. I think he might be insane.
A question that plagues humanity: If “Blurred Lines” is performed without Emily Ratajkowski, do you achieve a memory boner?
And, finally, if you ever sit up at night, sleeplessly wondering what happened to Chris Tucker's career, chew on this IQ-sucking monologue:
Chris needs you, Jackie. Rush Hour 4 is the only thing keeping this man from bankruptcy (again).
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