BET Awards 2026: Cardi B, Doechii, SZA and Kehlani win major honors
- By Umaima Amir -
- Jun 29, 2026
The 2026 BET Awards celebrated some of music’s biggest stars on Sunday night, with Cardi B, Doechii, SZA and Kehlani taking home top honors, while Lauryn Hill was recognized with the prestigious Living Legend Icon Award during an emotional tribute.
Cardi B was named Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, marking another milestone following the release of her comeback album Am I the Drama?, her first full-length project since 2018’s Invasion of Privacy.
Accepting the award, Cardi reflected on overcoming personal challenges while creating the album.
“Thank you so much for this award. This award means so much to me. Three babies later, I put the album out, honey. Yes. I overcame my fear, my anxiety and I put it out,” she said of her album. “I put it out, and guess what? I won an award.”
Cardi thanked her fans, family and everyone who attended her I’m the Drama Tour before adding, “I love my babies. I love Jesus. Thank you so much.”
Meanwhile, Doechii and SZA won the BET Her Award for their collaboration “Girl, Get Up.”
During their award acceptance speech, Doechii spoke about the challenges she faced while making the song and thanked SZA for standing by her.
“Y’all don’t understand how hard me and SZA worked putting that record together. It was at a time where, girl, I was going through it. But I’m so glad you pulled through for me, sister.”
SZA then chimed in and said, “Anything for you, always!”
The heartfelt moment quickly turned humorous when a saxophonist began loudly playing as though signaling the speech should wrap up. Unfazed, Doechii continued speaking and teased that new music is on the way, drawing laughs from the audience.
Kehlani was honored as Best Female R&B/Pop Artist and admitted she was caught off guard by the win.
One of the evening’s most memorable moments came when Lauryn Hill received the Living Legend Icon Award. The music icon was celebrated with a star-studded tribute performance featuring The War and Treaty, Doechii, SZA, Tierra Whack, Tems, Doja Cat, Nas, Lizzo, Rapsody, Alexia Jayy, Queen Latifah, Common and Hill’s children, Selah, Joshua “YG” and Zion Marley.