Nigerian Artists Who Have Won BET Awards

At the turn of the century, Black Entertainment Television established an award named after it, the BET Awards. It had the singular goal of celebrating black entertainers in Film, music, philanthropy and sports.

Since its founding, the award has grown in prestige, honouring blacks and other minorities around the world and highlighting their contributions to the arts, culture, and humanity as a whole.

These days, for most young people, the dream is to be nominated for a BET award and, ultimately, to win it. For aspiring artists, a nomination is enough as it adds a coat of prestige to their art and career. Winning is just another layer of prestige.

Entertainers and philanthropists from around the world have won the BET awards since its founding. In this article, though, we are focusing strictly on Nigerians who have won the award. There is a lesson to be learned in all of it, including that being the first to win an award does not necessarily translate to being the one who would have the biggest haul in years to come.

While the BET Awards was established in 2001, it wasn’t until 2011, exactly ten years after, that a Nigerian won the award, Tag along as we share the list of Nigerian Artists Who Have Won BET Awards.

1. Baba (formerly 2Face) and D’Banj

They are almost contemporaries and had the fortune of being winners of the BET Awards in the same year, but their familial lives are markedly different.

Innocent Uja Idibia, long famous by his adopted stage name 2Baba won the BETS Awards in (2011) alongside D’Banj in the Best African Act category. The news of the win reverberated across Nigeria and gave other artists a strong awakening to what they can achieve on the international music scene.

These days, 2Baba is often described as a legend by most of his admirers. He is most famous for the song “African Queen,” the ownership of which he has continued to fight over with his former bandmate Blackface.

He might be 5 years younger than 2Baba, but D’Banj had the fortune of popping on stage with the former Plantashun Boiz lead artist to take the first BET trophy for a Nigerian. Neither of them has won another BET Award since though. As musicians, of course, they have earned their stripes.

 

2. Wizkid

He opened the door for younger musicians to start snagging BET Awards off the counter. He was still fairly new in the music industry when he snagged his first BET scudetto a year after D’Banj and 2Baba won it – in 2012.

Wizkid’s win is not only significant for him but for the others who came behind him as well. The reason is that he publicly criticised the BET Awards for disrespecting African artists by giving them their awards backstage, away from the full glare of the cameras.

That criticism didn’t stop him from winning the BET Awards again five years later – in 2017. In the five-year break from winning, other artists had bagged the prize.

Wizkid came from a provincial backwater called Surulere, which he immortalised in the later part of his career with a song of the same name. He was committed to his art long enough to become one of the most important voices in African music and with an impressive following to boot.

3. Ice Prince

He is not exactly a prince, nor does he traffick in “ice.” What you have here is just an adopted stage name. But then, the bloke who bears that name is one of the standout figures in Nigerian music and a one-time BET Awards winner.

Ice Prince came just behind Wizkid, in 2013, snagging the BET Awards for that year. Instrumental to his win was his song of that year – “Oleku.” It has been described as one of the best songs from him and one of the best Nigerian hip-hop songs as well. Unlike when it was released, the song is no longer trending.

Ice Prince is not as active as he was in his early days, but his musical influence is still pretty strong. Now and then, he drops new numbers for his fans and they are usually stuff worth the playtime.

4. Davido

He is easily one of the most loved music stars in Nigeria and indeed Africa. Davido’s marked magnanimity stands him out and many love him for one. But beyond because a generous bloke from a wealthy family, the songster has also won the BET Awards twice, making him the second Nigerian with that record after Wizkid.

The “Risky” singer won the BET Awards in 2014, just after Ice Prince. It was a significant win and something that boosted his career in no small way. Following his 2014 win, he had three years of “BET drought.” In the fourth year, though – in 2018 so to speak – he won the awards again.

His first win was in the Best African Act category and his second win was in the Best International Act category. The songster performed at the BET Awards this year. Although he didn’t win anything this time, it was a significant moment and experience, which he commented about after his performance.

Davido is one of the few Nigerian musicians who came from wealthy families.

5. Burna Boy

He calls himself the “African Giant” – okay, that’s in reference to his album of the same title. Still, it is hard to fault the audacity of his declamation. Damini Ogulu, the singer long famous by the adopted stage name Burna Boy happens to be the Nigerian with the biggest BET Awards haul to date.

He might have been slow with winning the BET Awards, but since he snagged one in 2019, he has been unstoppable. He won the award in the Best International Act category for three years in a row (2019 to 2021). The break in his winning streak happened in 2022 when he lost to fellow Nigerian Tems (details about whom are given in a different section below).

Burna is often compared to Fela and many think of him as a top afrobeats artist. But the songster insists what he plays is afro-fusion. Whatever the case, he stands out as a musician and already has a secure spot in the world of African music.

6. Tems

The only Nigerian woman on out r list so far.  But then, Tems has earned her spot and deserves the respect she has earned as a musician. She might not be an oldie in the trenches of Nigerian music (oh, we don’t mean “trenches” in the sense Nigerians have coloured it), but she knows her stuff and she shares them hot.

The songstress made history and smashed a personal milestone when she became the first Nigerian female artist to win the BET Awards in 2022, besting other musicians in the battle for the scudetto.

The significance of that win was not lost on her, as she celebrated it all over the place. And, of course, her fans joined in the celebration as well. Looking back some fans often point to her as having broken the jinx of a female from Nigeria not winning the award. The only thing is that since she won the award back in 2022, none of her female compatriots has been able to get it as well.

But who wins in the coming years? Time will tell.