Lil Nas X Released A Diss Track To The BET Awards

The Daily Grind Video

CLOSE

64th Annual GRAMMY Awards - Arrivals

Source: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty

Lil Nas X called out the BET Awards for his lack of nominations this year. While newcomer Jack Harlow lands a few of his own. Did the Black Entertainment Television Awards snub one of pop music’s biggest Black stars and reward a (White) rapper instead?

On Tuesday, June 7, the 23-year-old artist shared his disdain for the BET Awards with a new song, which he shared a snippet of on social media. The song details his gripes about being excluded from the 2022 BET Awards nominations list even after having a massive hit like “Industry Baby” reach the US Billboard 100 No. 1 spot.

In the clip, Lil Nas X is shirtless lip-syncing in the car alongside the newly-released track, titled “Late to Da Party,” featuring NBA Young Boy.

“F*ck BET, F*ck BET,” he introduces the song. He goes on to say he doesn’t need anyone to validate his success.

“Look at how I top shit / I just put like three up in the top 10 / And I don’t need nobody / I just need these ccs on my body/ Everything I do be tryna run, go make a profit / Read about it,” the rap continues.

Lil Nas X has never been one to bite his tongue when it comes to… well, much of anything. He is being more than vocal about his obvious disproval of BET’s annual awards.

He shared a series of since-deleted tweets about the nominations.

“Thank you bet awards. an outstanding zero nominations again,” he wrote in his first tweet, before adding, “black excellence,” mocking their exclusion.

Lil Nas X was previously nominated for the BET Awards’ Best New Artist in 2020, and for five BET Hip Hop Awards in 2019 and 2021.

“We love Lil Nas X,” BET said in a statement to HuffPost. “He was nominated for a Best New Artist BET Award in 2020, and we proudly showcased his extraordinary talent and creativity on the show twice: he performed ‘Old Town Road’ with Billy Ray Cyrus at ‘BET Awards’ 2019 and his ‘BET Awards’ 2021 performance was a highlight of our show. No one cheered louder that night than BET.”

The statement goes on to say, “Unfortunately, this year, he was not nominated by BET’s Voting Academy, which is comprised of an esteemed group of nearly 500 entertainment professionals in the fields of music, television, film, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, influencers, and creative arts.”

Many fans conclude that the bigger issue is that the network is excluding Lil Nas X and including Jack Harlow, who is featured on Lil Nas X’s hit song “Industry Baby,” because he is part of the LGBTQ+ community.

BET defended these claims about their lack of diversity and inclusion, saying:  “We are passionate advocates for the wonderful diversity that exists within our community. We are committed to using all of our platforms to provide visibility and inclusion for all of the many intersections of the Black community.”

Fortunately, Lil Nas X isn’t short on any awards. He is set to receive the Hal David Starlight Award at the 2022 Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala on June 16.

Listen to his BET Awards diss track “Late to the Party” below: