Award shows haven’t always been the most wholesome avenue to capture the rising phenom that is modern Afropop, but there are heart-warming instances worth celebrating unabashedly. At Sunday’s ceremony for this year’s BET Awards, Wizkid and Tems won the Best Collaboration award for the Justin Bieber-assisted remix of their smash hit, “Essence.” Last year, the Made In Lagos standout signalled a higher level of stateside visibility for Nigerian pop, and heralded the making of more moments in subsequent months.

2 in 1 🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/lVGAwEQ2OA

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In an instalment of Complex’s Brackets series, American radio personality and media executive Ebro Darden crowned “Essence” as the song of 2021’s (sort of) post-pandemic summer, reinforcing a consensus that started forming as the song grew from Instagram virality to cookout favourite. It made sense that many were upset that the Wizkid and Tems collaboration, even with a remix that features a bonafide stateside (and global) superstar, didn’t score any nods in the general fields at the last Grammys, with the recording academy choosing to shunt the song and its housing album to the Global categories.

This BET award win is not a rejoinder to that notable shrug, it’s a celebration of how far Nigerian pop and urban African music has come. With Wizkid absent at the ceremony, Tems went up to receive the award, and her short acceptance speech reflected that wider celebratory tone. It wasn’t the only time the big voiced singer would climb the stage; she picked up her second award for Best International Act, gracefully dedicating her win to African and Black girls and women everywhere.

While those were the only two Afropop-related wins of the night, Nigerian singer and Best International Act nominee Fireboy DML created another moment for Nigerian pop, performing a rubbery, horn-laden rendition of his Billboard charting hit, “Peru.” Again, it was a celebration of the truly global status of our music, which continues to travel from Lagos to London to Los Angeles.

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ICYMI: READ OUR 2020 COVER STORY, TEMS: GIRL ON FIRE