Review: ‘House Party’ (2023), starring Jacob Latimore, Tosin Cole, Karen Obilom, D.C. Young Fly and Scott Mescudi

January 14, 2023

by Carla Hay

Jacob Latimore, LeBron James and Tosin Cole in “House Party” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

“House Party” (2023)

Directed by Calmatic

Culture Representation: Taking place in Los Angeles, the comedy film “House Party” features a predominantly African American cast of characters (with a few white people and Latinos) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: In this reboot of the 1990 comedy film “House Party,” two best friends—one who’s an aspiring musician, the other who’s an aspiring party promoter—throw an illegal party at the mansion of basketball superstar LeBron James while James is away on vacation.

Culture Audience: Aside from the obvious target audience of fans of the “House Party” comedy franchise, “House Party” will appeal mainly to people who don’t mind watching silly movie remakes that make African Americans look stupid and ridiculous.

Scott Mescudi (with his back to the camera), Tosin Cole, Karen Obilom and Jacob Latimore in “House Party” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

The 2023 reboot of “House Party” is nothing but a shallow cesspool of bad jokes, mindless characters and a relentlessly dull story. The house party doesn’t get started until almost halfway through this vapid movie. The original 1990 “House Party” (written and directed by Reginald Hudlin) was by no means a masterpiece, but it was a low-budget movie that had moments of charm and genuinely hilarious comedy. This 2023 version of “House Party” is just one of many examples of a very misguided and unnecessary movie reboot that is a complete waste of time and money.

Calmatic (whose real name is Charles Kidd II) makes his feature-film directorial debut with the 2023 version of “House Party,” which uses the same concept as the original 1990 “House Party”: Two best friends experience various hijinks during a raucous house party. Jamal Olori and Stephen Glover wrote the terrible screenplay for 2023’s “House Party.”

In 1990’s “House Party” movie, which takes place in an unnamed U.S. city, best friends Christopher “Kid” Robinson Jr. (played by Christopher “Kid” Reid) and Peter “Play” Martin (played by Christopher “Play” Martin) are teenagers in high school. The basic plot is about aspiring rapper Kid sneaking out of his house to go to a house party thrown by aspiring party promoter Play, while Play’s parents are away on vacation. The two pals also have a loudmouth DJ friend, possible love interests, and a trio of bullying thugs who also factor into the story.

The 2023 version of “House Party,” which takes place in Los Angeles, uses the same template of the original “House Party” movie, except the two best friends are in their mid-20s, not underage teens. But because 2023’s “House Party” is polluted with negative stereotypes of African American men, these two clowns are supposed to be financially broke and still living with family members. The two best friends, whose names are Kevin and Damon, both have low-paying day jobs as housecleaners for a company called Windsor Prestige House Cleaning, which has a lot of wealthy people as clients.

In 2023’s “House Party,” Kevin (played by Jacob Latimore) is an aspiring R&B singer/songwriter who shares custody of his toddler daughter Destiny with an ex-girlfriend named Cher (Destiny’s mother), who is never seen in the movie. Kevin lives with his father Pops (played by Bill Bellamy) and Pops’ wife Lisa (played by Nakia Burrise), who will soon be selling the house after Pops’ planned retirement. Kevin has a good relationship with his father and stepmother, but they’ve told Kevin that he will have to find another place to live after the house is sold. Kevin needs money to find a new home and because he wants to send Destiny to an elite private school.

Kevin’s best friend Damon (played by Tosin Cole), whose name is pronounced “Duh-mawn,” is an aspiring party promoter living with his aunt Jean (played by Renata Walsh), who is a cringeworthy stereotype of an “angry black woman” in the brief time that she’s on screen. She bursts into Damon’s bedroom during the day while he’s sleeping and yells at him to wake up. And because it isn’t enough for this horrible movie to portray Damon as lazy, “House Party” depicts him as someone with bad hygiene. Jean complains about the foul body odor in Damon’s bedroom with some insults that include: “It smells like someone fucked an onion in here!”

Just like in 1990’s “House Party,” the lighter-skinned friend is portrayed as the “responsible, smarter” one who is more likely to be worried about getting in trouble, while the darker-skinned friend is the “irresponsible, dumber” one who is more likely to do reckless things that will get the two pals in trouble. It might or might not be colorism from the “House Party” filmmakers, but it sure looks like colorism to a lot of people. Even if this apparent colorism wasn’t intentional, 2023’s “House Party” has so many other problems that can’t save this movie from being a complete flop.

Kevin is confronted on the street by three thugs who are looking for Damon. The leader of this dimwitted, scowling trio is Kyle (played by Allen Maldonado), who is almost always accompanied by sidekicks Larry (played by Melvin Gregg) and Guile (played by Rotimi), who are all cartoonish because of the stupid things that they say and do in the movie. The three bullies want to rough up Damon because they think that Damon has stolen a gold chain necklace from a woman named Daisy, who is Guile’s cousin.

Kevin manages to convince Kyle, Larry and Guile that he doesn’t know anything about this alleged theft. But don’t think this will be the last time that this trio of hoodlums will appear in the movie. Viewers will later find out if Damon really did steal that gold chain necklace. It’s such an uninteresting subplot that it might as well have not been in this “House Party” remake.

Damon and Kevin were hired by Windsor Prestige Housecleaners because Kevin’s ex-girlfriend Venus Bailey (played by Karen Obilom) has some type of managerial position at the company, and she was able to use her clout to get jobs for these two slackers. When it comes to Kevin’s love life, Kevin thinks of Venus as “the one that got away,” so you know what that means: Venus is Kevin’s obvious love interest.

One day, Damon and Kevin are doing a housecleaning job at a mansion, whose owner is away on vacation. It isn’t long before they discover from snooping around the house that the mansion belongs to basketball superstar LeBron James. Damon and Kevin find a private calendar showing that the family members who live in the house are all in India for a two-week spiritual retreat.

While Kevin and Damon are snooping around the mansion, they go into a trophy/memorabilia room, where they see LeBron’s awards and possessions related to basketball, including a championship NBA ring locked in a glass case. (And it’s easy to predict what will happen to the ring and the “race against time” that ensues.) The two pals also see that LeBron has a life-sized hologram of himself in this room, with the hologram giving self-esteem-boosting pep talks.

Why is there all this LeBron James promotion in 2023’s “House Party”? James is a producer of the movie through his SpringHill Company. He also makes a cameo as himself in the movie. Considering that James was a producer and had a starring role in the awful 2021 reboot/sequel “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” maybe it’s time for him to stop making inferior remakes of movies that weren’t very good in the first place.

Not long after Kevin and Damon find out that they’re in LeBron’s mansion, Venus calls them to let them know that Kevin and Damon have been fired. Why? During a previous housecleaning job for the company, Damon and Kevin were caught smoking marijuana on the house’s surveillance video, which was sent to the company.

Kevin is desperate for money, so he comes up with the idea of charging people money to party for one night at LeBron’s mansion, with the intention to mislead the invited people into thinking that LeBron will be at the party too. At first Damon doesn’t want to do it, but he changes his mind and ends up causing more problems during the party. Before they leave LeBron’s house for the day, Kevin and Damon smoke some marijuana on the property. (“House Party” over-relies on marijuana smoking as the gag in jokes that fall very flat.)

“House Party” is so ill-conceived, viewers are supposed to believe that two complete strangers can throw this type of illegal party in a celebrity mansion and that there would be no employees of the celebrity who would find out. In fact, there are no staffers of LeBron James during the party that attracts a few hundred people, including celebrities portraying themselves. The movie never bothers to explain why this mansion doesn’t have any of the James family’s security people or other employees hired to look after it while the family is on vacation. It’s all so mind-numbingly idiotic.

The movie also expects viewers to be morons and think that this party that was marketed as being hosted by LeBron is supposed to be a “secret,” as if word of mouth doesn’t exist. In addition, people at the party are shown filming themselves or taking photos to put on their social media. And yet, there’s a scene during the party when Kevin angrily yells at Damon for revealing the “secret” party because Damon put photos of the party on social media.

One of the worst things about the 2023 version of “House Party” is that all of the characters are boring or very obnoxious. (And so are the performances by the cast members.) Damon and Kevin hire a DJ friend named Vic (played by D.C. Young Fly), who is nothing but an irritating buffoon. He’s nowhere near as funny as Martin Lawrence’s DJ character Bilal in 1990’s “House Party.”

The female characters with prominent roles in the movie are presented as dull love interests or “video vixen” types. Venus has a cousin named Mika (played by Shakira Ja’nai Paye), who’s a very superficial and materialistic party girl. Grammy-winning singer Mya portrays herself in a bland role as LeBron’s neighbor who attracts the lustful attention of Damon.

A subplot from 1990’s “House Party” that isn’t in 2023’s “House Party” is showing how white police officers constantly harass the protagonists when the protagonists aren’t doing anything wrong. It’s a social issue that could have been in a “House Party” movie of the Black Lives Matter era, but apparently this subject matter was too challenging for the filmmakers of 2023’s “House Party.” It’s probably better that 2023’s “House Party” did not have racist police harassment/abuse of African Americans as part of the movie’s story, because it’s a real-life racial problem that’s too important to be in this garbage movie.

The closest that 2023’s “House Party” comes to addressing racial issues is by having a “token” white character named Peter (played by Andrew Santino), who is a nerdy and nosy neighbor of LeBron. Peter becomes the butt of a lot of the movie’s so-called jokes because he’s supposed to be the “clueless white guy” who fails miserably at trying to appear “cool” to black people. Peter inevitably goes over to the house when he sees some of the activity going on and because his female koala named Marley has wandered over to LeBron’s property.

When Kevin and Damon answer the door, Peter is surprised to see these two strangers, who can’t get their stories straight about why they’re at LeBron’s mansion. Before Peter leaves, he tells Damon and Kevin, “By the way, Black Lives Matter.” At various times during “House Party,” the movie uses the koala (which is an obvious fake replica, not a real koala) as a weak gimmick for more unfunny jokes that get run into the ground early, such as the koala getting a contact high from marijuana smoke at the party. The visual effects in this movie are very tacky and unrealistic.

The 2023 version of “House Party” overloads on useless celebrity cameos, as if seeing these celebrities is supposed to make this junkpile movie better. Among the stars who demeaned themselves to portray themselves in this dreadful dud are Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Tinashe, Lena Waithe, Mark Cuban, Odell Beckham Jr., Tristan Thompson and Carl Anthony Payne II. Waithe, who is an Emmy-winning screenwriter in real life, embarrasses herself by portraying a marijuana-smoking party guest who is shown brainstorming ideas for a TV series, including a show that she wants to be like “Roots,” but “in reverse,” with black people enslaving white people.

Scott Mescudi (also known as rapper Kid Cudi) has a poorly written supporting role as himself; his character is another stoned party guest. He has some of the worst lines in the movie, which makes him look like a drug-addled dolt. The 2023 version of “House Party” takes a bizarre turn with a bloody and violent subplot that looks like it’s trying to be a horror-movie parody of 1999’s “Eyes Wide Shut,” but this subplot is neither scary nor funny. Original “House Party” stars Reid and Martin (also known as rap duo Kid ‘n Play) have a very quick cameo in this gruesome part of the movie.

The release of the 2023 version of “House Party” was delayed several times—an obvious indication that Warner Bros. Pictures knew that the movie was an irredeemable bomb. At one point, the movie wasn’t going to have a theatrical release and was supposed to be released directly to HBO Max. Even if people see this version of “House Party” without paying for a movie ticket, it’s still a painfully unfunny waste of time and so horrendously stupid, even the fake koala should be ashamed to be associated with this dreck.

Warner Bros. Pictures released “House Party” in U.S. cinemas on January 13, 2023.

2020 BET Hip-Hop Awards: Megan Thee Stallion is the top winner

October 27, 2020

Megan Thee Stallion (Photo by Zach Dilgard/HBO Max)

The following is a press release from BET:

This year’s 2020 BET “HIP HOP AWARDS” brought together some of the hottest names in music to celebrate Hip Hop’s biggest night. Comedians, actors, hosts of the “85 South Show” podcast and stars of “Wild N’ Out” – comedy supergroup 85 South (Karlous Miller, DC Young Fly and Chico Bean) co-hosted the annual show that premiered Tuesday, October 27, 2020, at 9:00 PM ET/PT.

Megan Thee Stallion ruled the night with three wins for Hustler of the Year, Hip Hop Artist of the Year and a shared Best Collaboration with Beyoncé for the “Savage (remix).” Beyoncé also took home an additional win for Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse for the track. Roddy Ricch was a double winner for Song of the Year and Album of the Year for “Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial.” Pop Smoke was posthumously crowned Best New Hip Hop Artist and UK rapper Stormzy took home the award for Best International Flow.

Cordae opened the show with a powerful freestyle about the importance of voting followed by Impact Track winner Lil Baby performing his hit single “We Paid” with 42 Dugg. The City Girls blazed the stage with anthems “Kitty Talk” and “Jobs” in their first televised performance since JT’s release last year. Taking the stage for her television debut, Mulatto treated viewers to a medley of “Youngest N Richest,” “B**** From Da Souf” and “Muwop” with an appearance from Gucci Mane. Quavo performed a special tribute to Pop Smoke that included “Shake the Room” and “Aim For the Moon.” Snoop Dogg honored the I Am Hip Hop Award recipient Master P. 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne closed out the show in a major way with their hit single “Money Maker.” With the election less than a week away, Vice Presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance with an impassioned plea urging viewers to let their voices be heard at the polls.

During the timely “Hip Hop Cares” segments, G Herbo and Trae Tha Truth were spotlighted for their tireless work giving back to their communities and the world at large through social justice, mental health and environmental activism. Rappers Reuben Vincent, Bobby Sessions and Pretty Yellow shared fiery voting freestyles throughout the show.

The much-anticipated cyphers were hosted by DJ Hed and featured a bevy of emcees, R&B songstresses and reggae stars dropping hot sixteens including Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Original Koffee, Shenseea, Skip Marley, ZJ Liquid, Adé, Buddy, Deanté Hitchcock, and Flo Milli.  Singers Brandy, Erykah Badu, H.E.R. and Teyana Taylor joined forces for a show stopping, all-female collaboration. Rappers Chika, Flawless Real Talk, Jack Harlow, Polo G and Rapsody let their voices be heard in the first ever “Social Justice” cypher.

Presenters for the evening included Hip Hop heavyweights Snoop Dogg and T.I. along with R&B superstar Monica.

See below for the complete list of the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards nominees and winners:

*=winner

BEST HIP HOP VIDEO

  • DaBaby, “Bop”
  • DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch, “Rockstar”
  • Drake, “Toosie Slide”
  • Future featuring Drake, “Life Is Good”*
  • Lil Baby, “The Bigger Picture”
  • Roddy Ricch, “The Box”

BEST COLLABORATION

  • DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch, “Rockstar”
  • Future featuring Drake, “Life Is Good”
  • Jack Harlow featuring Tory Lanez, DaBaby and Lil Wayne, “What’s Poppin” (Remix)
  • Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé, “Savage” (Remix)*
  • Megan Thee Stallion featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign, “Hot Girl Summer”
  • Mustard featuring Roddy Ricch, “Ballin’”

BEST DUO OR GROUP

  • Chris Brown and Young Thug*
  • City Girls
  • EarthGang
  • Jackboys
  • Migos
  • Run the Jewels

 BEST LIVE PERFORMER

  • Big Sean
  • DaBaby
  • Drake
  • Megan Thee Stallion
  • Roddy Ricch
  • Travis Scott*

LYRICIST OF THE YEAR

  • Big Sean
  • DaBaby
  • Drake
  • J. Cole
  • Megan Thee Stallion
  • Rapsody*

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

  • Cactus Jack and White Trash Tyler
  • Cole Bennett
  • Colin Tilley
  • Dave Meyers
  • Director X
  • Teyana “Spike Tee” Taylor*

DJ OF THE YEAR

  • Chase B
  • D-Nice*
  • DJ Drama
  • DJ Envy
  • DJ Khaled
  • Mustard

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

  • 9th Wonder
  • DJ Khaled
  • Hit-Boy*
  • JetsonMade
  • Mike Will Made-It
  • Mustard

HIP HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR

  • DaBaby
  • Drake
  • Future
  • Lil Baby
  • Megan Thee Stallion*
  • Roddy Ricch

SONG OF THE YEAR

  • “Bop” – Produced by JetsonMade and Starboy (DaBaby)
  • “Life Is Good” – Produced by Ambezza, D. Hill & OZ (Future featuring Drake)
  • “Rockstar” – Produced by Seth in the Kitchen (DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch)
  • “Savage” (Remix) – Produced by J. White Did It (Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé)
  • “The Box” – Produced by 30 Roc and DatBoiSqueeze (Roddy Ricch)*
  • “Toosie Slide” – Produced by OZ (Drake)

HIP HOP ALBUM OF THE YEAR

  • DaBaby, “Blame It on Baby”  
  • DaBaby, “Kirk” 
  • Future, “High Off Life”                                   
  • Lil Baby, “My Turn”
  • Megan Thee Stallion – “Suga”
  • Roddy Ricch, “Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial”*

BEST NEW HIP HOP ARTIST

  • Flo Milli
  • Jack Harlow
  • Mulatto
  • NLE Choppa
  • Pop Smoke*
  • Rod Wave   

HUSTLER OF THE YEAR

  • Cardi B
  • DJ Khaled
  • Jay-Z
  • Megan Thee Stallion*
  • Rick Ross
  • Travis Scott

BEST HIP HOP PLATFORM

  • Complex
  • HipHopDX
  • Hot New Hip Hop
  • The Breakfast Club
  • The Joe Budden Podcast*
  • The Shade Room 
  • XXL

SWEET 16: BEST FEATURED VERSE

  • Beyoncé, “Savage” (Remix) (Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé)*
  • Bia, “Best on Earth” (Russ featuring Bia)
  • Cardi B, “Writing on the Wall” (French Montana featuring Post Malone, Cardi B and Rvssian)
  • Future, “Roses” (Remix) (Saint JHN featuring Future)
  • Roddy Ricch, “Rockstar” (DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch)
  • Travis Scott, “Hot” (Remix) (Young Thug featuring Gunna and Travis Scott)

IMPACT TRACK

  • Anderson .Paak and Jay Rock, “Lockdown”
  • DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch, “Rockstar” (BLM Remix)
  • J. Cole, “Snow on Tha Blufflil Baby”
  • Lil Baby, “The Bigger Picture”*
  • Rapsody featuring PJ Morton, “Afeni”
  • Wale featuring Kelly Price, “Sue Me”

BEST INTERNATIONAL FLOW

  • Meryl (France)
  • Kaaris (France)
  • Nasty C (South Africa)
  • Khaligraph Jones (Kenya)
  • Stormzy (UK)*
  • Ms Banks (UK)
  • Djonga (Brazil)

BET launched its first-ever consumer products line timed to the 2020 BET “HIP HOP AWARDS.” Collaborations with New Orleans based artist BMike and outerwear apparel company Chalkline headlined the launch. These items and more are available now exclusively on BET’s new e-commerce site store.BET.com.

Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET oversaw the annual show, with Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment, serving as Executive Producer of the 2020 BET “HIP HOP AWARDS” along with Jesse Collins Entertainment’s Jeannae Rouzan–Clay and Dionne Harmon.

Join the conversation on social media by logging on to BET’s multiple social media platforms:

On BET.com: http://www.bet.com/shows/hip-hop-awards.html 

On Twitter by using hashtag: #HipHopAwards; follow us @HipHopAwards and @BET

On Facebook by liking the fan page at facebook.com/HipHopAwards 

ABOUT BET

BET, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC), is the nation’s leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news, and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel is in 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, sub-Saharan Africa, and France. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions including BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET HER, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American Woman; BET Music Networks – BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET’s growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.

ABOUT JESSE COLLINS ENTERTAINMENT

Jesse Collins Entertainment (JCE) is a full-service television and film production company and has played an integral role in producing many of television’s most memorable moments in music entertainment.  JCE has a multi-year overall agreement with ViacomCBS Cable Networks.  On the theatrical film side, the company also has a first look on JCE’s film development projects which could include Viacom’s film entities such as Paramount Players.  Jesse Collins, founder & CEO of the company, is the executive producer of award-winning and critically acclaimed television that JCE has produced including miniseries—The New Edition Story and The Bobby Brown Story; scripted series—American Soul and Real Husbands of Hollywood; children’s series—Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices; award shows—BET Awards, Black Girls Rock!, BET Honors, UNCF’s An Evening of Stars, BET Hip Hop Awards, ABFF Honors and Soul Train Awards; specials—John Lewis: Celebrating A Hero, Love & Happiness: An Obama Farewell, Change Together: From The March On Washington To Today, Dear Mama, Amanda Seales I Be Knowin’, Def Comedy Jam 25 and Leslie Jones: Time Machine; as well as competition/game shows—Sunday Best, Hip Hop Squares, Nashville Squares and Rhythm & Flow.  Collins is also a producer for the iconic Grammy Awards and will next executive produce The Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show.  Go to jessecollinsent.com for more information on the company.

ABOUT BET “HIP HOP AWARDS”

BET “Hip Hop Awards” is an annual celebration that pays homage to a culture that changed the world while highlighting the best in hip hop music.  Year after year, BET Networks delivers the best in hip-hop for an unforgettable night of performances, cyphers and tributes honoring hip-hop legends that have and continue to make hip-hop culture a global force.

2018 BET Hip-Hop Awards: Drake leads with 11 nominations, Cardi B has 10 nods

September 12, 2018

The following is a press release from BET:

The BET “Hip Hop Awards” will return to The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater for the second consecutive year on Saturday, October 6, 2018, and will premiere on Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at 8:00PM ET/PT.

Grammy Award winning, Multi-Platinum artist, Drake leads this year’s nominations with an impressive 11 nods. Following the impressive release of Scorpion, Drake’s 11 nods includes Lyricist of the Year, MVP of the Year, Sweet 16, Album of the Year, Hot Ticket Performer, Hustler of the Year, Best Collabo and two nods for the Best Hip-Hop Video and Single of the Year categories.   Cardi B, 2017 Best New Hip-Hop Artist winner, follows closely with an astonishing 10 nominations.  With her first official album release “Invasion of Privacy,” the “Bodak Yellow” rapper snags 10 nods including Best Hip-Hop Video, Album of the Year, MVP of the Year, Single of the Year, Hot Ticket Performer, Made-You-Look Award, Hustler of the Year, Best Collabo and two nods in the Sweet 16 category.

Childish Gambino snagged the third highest nominations with six nods including ‘Hot Ticket Performer,’ Lyricist of the Year, MVP of the Year, Best Hip-Hop Video and Single of The Year, all of which he will face off against top nominees Cardi B and Drake.  Additionally, he snags a nomination for this year’s Impact Track award for his first No. 1 hit, “This is America,” whose video also garnered director Hiro Murai, his first Video Director of the Year nomination.

Other top nominees for the 2018 awards include Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar, who both received five nods, Travis Scott’s nominations include Hot Ticket Performer, Lyricist of the Year, MVP of the Year and the Made-You-Look Award (Best Hip-Hop Style).  Kendrick Lamar’s nods include Hot Ticket Performer, Hustler of the Year, Lyricist of the Year, Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse and Best Hip Hop Video for the visuals for “Loyalty” featuring Rihanna.

Additionally, Best New Hip-Hop Artist Award nominees include industry newcomers BlocBoy JB, Juice WRLD, Lil Baby, Rich The Kid, and XXXTentacion who posthumously receives the nomination.
Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment, will serve as Executive Producer of the BET Hip Hop Awards along with Connie Orlando, BET Head of Programming and Jeannae Rouzan–Clay, Vice President of Specials, Jesse Collins Entertainment.

See below for the complete list of BET “HIP HOP AWARDS” 2018 Official Nominees:

Best Hip-Hop Video
Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin, “I Like It”
Childish Gambino, “This Is America”
Drake, “God’s Plan”
Kendrick Lamar featuring Rihanna, “Loyalty”
Migos featuring Drake, “Walk It Talk It”

Hot Ticket Performer
Cardi B
Childish Gambino
Drake
Kendrick Lamar
Travis Scott

Album of the Year
Cardi B, “Invasion of Privacy”
Drake, “Scorpion”
J. Cole, “KOD”
Migos, “Culture II”
The Carters, “Everything Is Love”

Video Director of the Year
Benny Boom
Dave Meyers & The Little Homies
Director X
Eif Rivera
Hiro Murai
Karena Evans

Lyricist of the Year
Childish Gambino
Drake
J. Cole
Kendrick Lamar
Travis Scott

MVP of the Year
Cardi B
Childish Gambino
Drake
J. Cole
Travis Scott

Producer of the Year
Ben Billions
DJ Esco
DJ Mustard
Metro Boomin
Pharrell Williams

Best Collabo, Duo or Group
21 Savage & Offset & Metro Boomin, “Ric Flair Drip”
BlocBoy JB featuring Drake, “Look Alive”
Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin, “I Like It”
Post Malone featuring 21 Savage, “Rockstar”
The Carters, “Apes**t”

Single of the Year
“Apes**t” – Produced By Pharrell (Performed by The Carters)
“God’s Plan” – Produced By Cardo, Young Exclusive and Boi-1da (Performed by Drake)
“I Like It” – Produced By Craig Kallman, JWhiteDidIt and Tainy (Performed by Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny & J Balvin)
“Nice For What” – Produced By Murda Beatz (Performed by Drake)
“This Is America” – Produced By Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson (Performed by Childish Gambino)

Best New Hip-Hop Artist
BloBboy JB
Juice Wrld
Lil Baby
Rich The Kid
XXXTentacion

Best Mixtape
BlocBoy JB, “Simi”
Future, “Beast Mode 2”
Juicy J, “Shut Da F* Up”
Lil Wayne, “Dedication 6: Reloaded”
Zoey Dollaz, “Sorry Not Sorry”

Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse
21 Savage – “Bartier Cardi” (Cardi B featuring 21 Savage)
Cardi B – “Motorsport” (Migos featuring Cardi B & Nicki Minaj)
Drake – “Look Alive” (Blocboy JB featuring Drake)
Kendrick Lamar – “New Freezer” (Rich The Kid featuring Kendrick Lamar)
Nicki Minaj – “Big Bank” (Yg featuring 2 Chainz, Big Sean & Nicki Minaj)

Impact Track
Childish Gambino, “This Is America”
Dej Loaf & Leon Bridges, “Liberated”
Lecrae featuring Tori Kelly, “I’ll Find You”
Meek Mill featuring Miguel, “Stay Woke”
N.E.R.D featuring Future, ” 1,000″

DJ of the Year
Calvin Harris
DJ Envy
DJ Drama
DJ Khaled
DJ Mustard

Made-You-Look Award (Best Hip-Hop Style)
Cardi B
Migos
Nicki Minaj
Remy Ma
Travis Scott

Best Hip-Hop Online Site/App
ALLHIPHOP
Complex
Hot New Hip Hop
Worldstar
XXL

Hustler of the Year
Cardi B
DJ Khaled
Drake
Jay-Z
Kendrick Lamar
Travis Scott

Join the conversation on social media by logging on to BET’s multiple social media platforms:

On BET.com: http://www.bet.com/shows/hip-hop-awards.html

On Twitter by using hashtag: #HipHopAwards; follow us @HipHopAwards and @BET

On Facebook by liking the fan page at facebook.com/HipHopAwards

*Note: BET “Hip Hop Awards” is a private event and tickets are not available for purchase to the public. Talent tickets are reserved for BET “Hip Hop Awards” show talent and nominees.

ABOUT BET NETWORKS:

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation’s leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET HER, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American Woman; BET Music Networks – BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET’s growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.

ABOUT JESSE COLLINS ENTERTAINMENT:

Jesse Collins Entertainment (JCE) is a full service television and film production company founded by entertainment industry veteran Jesse Collins. For more than a decade, Collins has played an integral role in producing some of television’s most memorable moments in music entertainment.  Collins has produced ground-breaking and award winning television programming including the BET Awards, the GRAMMY Awards, Soul Train Awards, BET Honors, UNCF An Evening of Stars, ABFF Awards and the BET Hip Hop Awards. Collins was an executive producer of the hit TV series, Real Husbands of Hollywood starring Kevin Hart, the critically-acclaimed The New Edition Story, a biopic on the boy band that aired as a 3-part mini-series on BET in January 2017 and posted record ratings for the network and attracted nearly 30 million viewers.  He is also the executive producer of VH1 shows Dear Mama and Hip Hop Squares with Ice Cube.  He has appeared on the cover of Vibe magazine and has been featured in numerous publications including Ebony magazine.  JCE recently produced The Bobby Brown Story, which premiered on Sept. 4th & 5th on BET.

ABOUT BET “HIP HOP AWARDS”:

BET “Hip Hop Awards” is an annual celebration that pays homage to a culture that changed the world while highlighting the best in hip hop music.  Year after year, BET Networks delivers the best in hip-hop for an unforgettable night of performances, cyphers and tributes honoring hip-hop legends that have and continue to make hip-hop culture a global force.

September 19, 2018 UPDATE:

The BET “HIP HOP AWARDS” has remained the biggest night in hip hop on television for over a decade with its powerful performances, iconic hip hop honorees and much-anticipated cyphers. Comedian, actor and host of VH1’s “Hip Hop Squares,” Deray Davis – a bonafide fan favorite will rock the mic as host of the BET “HIP HOP AWARDS” 2018 in Miami, FL.

The “I Am Hip Hop” Award returns to honor self-proclaimed “greatest rapper alive,” and New Orleans’ own Lil Wayne. Having sold over 100 million records worldwide and garnered five Grammy awards, Lil Wayne is one of the most successful and critically lauded artists in hip hop. Touted rap’s first rock star, he released his platinum solo debut, Tha Block Is Hot, in 1999 at the age of 17. He released the first installment of his legendary Tha Carter series in 2004 before releasing three others, including the landmark Tha Carter III in 2008, which is the last rap album to have sold one million physical copies in the first week. Lil Wayne was the first male solo artist to surpass Elvis Presley’s record for most entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and his 138 Billboard Hot 100 appearances, currently ranks as the third most of any artist. His most recent studio album, I Am Not A Human Being II, was released in 2013 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 Charts. Last year, Wayne released FWA (Free Weezy Album) exclusively on Tidal, where it was streamed a staggering ten million times within the first seven days alone. Lil Wayne is also a celebrated author who released his memoir “Gone Till November” in October of 2016 chronicling his experience in Rikers Island. Outside of his iconic music career, Lil Wayne has continued on as the CEO of his own Young Money Entertainment label (Drake, Nicki Minaj) which will release the much anticipated Tha Carter V later this year (in conjunction with Republic Records). Additionally, Lil Wayne is the CEO of Young Money APAA, a premiere full service sports agency.

From the Hood to Hollywood – nothing is off limits and no one is safe from the 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards host DeRay Davis’ hilarious, sidesplitting anecdotes. He has continuously sold out venues both domestically and internationally.  His highly anticipated first-ever Netflix special “DeRay Davis: How to Act Black” smashed the cultural landscape on November 14, 2017 and was so popular it shut down the Netflix server. He can currently be seen on the FX series “Snowfall.”

 

 

DJ Khaled to host inaugural Summerfest Cruise

March 6, 2017

DJ Khaled
DJ Khaled at the Maxim Super Bowl Party in Houston on February 4, 2017. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Maxim)

DJ Khaled is set to host the first Summerfest Cruise. a hip-hop  music festival that will take place on a Norwegian Sky cruise ship in the Caribbean from June 30 to July 3, 2017.  Future, A$AP Rocky, Lil Wayne, Migos and other artists to be announced will perform at the festival. The cruise debarks on June 30, from Miami, and then makes stops in Nassau, Bahamas, and the exclusive private island of Great Stirrup Cay before returning to Miami on Monday, July 3. Cabin prices range from $721 to $1279 per person and can be purchased online at Summerfestcruise.com.

According to a press release, the Norwegian Sky spans 848 feet and features 1,002 state-of-the-art cabins. It is equipped with 11 dining options, 11 bars and lounges, two swimming pools, five hot tubs, a spa and salon, a fitness center, a jogging track, golf driving nets, a basketball and volleyball court, galleria shops, a video arcade and a casino.

In addition to musical performances, Summerfest Cruise 2017 will partner with multiple brands (to be announced) to feature exclusive experiences spanning fashion, sports, gourmet dining and interactive tech and gaming.

in a statement, DJ Khaled commented, “They don’t want us to be on a cruise—so we are going on the most major cruise the world has ever seen—hosted by me and my roster of superstar friends. But don’t get it twisted—Summerfest Cruise 2017 is more than just a cruise, it’s a movement. A movement of good vibes and creative energy. A movement that connects the worlds of music, fashion, culture, technology and design. We’re going to give you everything—the dopest live concerts, spectacular fashion pop-ups, enlightening panels and presentations—this will be one for the books. Don’t play yourself. Reward yourself.”

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