BET Awards 2012: To Censor or Not To Censor

Each summer I look forward to the new ads for the upcoming BET Awards-- who’s going to attend, the nominees, the Black Carpet and the Pre-show. But each year my discontent with the performances and abundant artists who use the stage as an extension of a studio session grows more intense.

Don’t misunderstand, I enjoy the somewhat diverse musicianship and like many others, I’m usually eager to see the return of so many great singers/dancers from the early 2000's but seriously, if I see 1 more white T covering some young hip hop artist’s butt on stage as his pants sag almost to his knees I think I’ll lose my mind! Half the time I can barely understand what they’re jumping around the stage rhyming about. And this year BET had so many strobe lights on stage I couldn’t even recognize some rappers.

Also, was it just me or did some of the more classic acts sound as if they were hanging on to their last leg trying to belt out a song; shall I say, Usher, dare I say, Frankie Beverly, a special case, but nevertheless, an honest observation. Are we so desperate to have acts to fill time on the air that, forgiving or not we may be, we put them there anyway?

If it wasn’t for Chris Brown’s back flips and all the R&B divas wearing 6in high heels, miniskirts and bronzer, I’m not sure the show would be all that worth it. I mean we know Kevin Hart is going to make cynical jokes about comparing himself to the sexiest black men on the planet, or that the host is going to do a slight redo of last year’s host but my question is, when will BET start setting trends that will defy the ordinary and take the game to a better level?