The 2012 BET Awards are under way on BET. The show is airing live from Los Angeles. Scheduled performers include Nicki Minaj, Usher, Chris Brown and more.
How many times will Rick Ross take off his shirt? What kind of crazy getup will Nicki Minaj flaunt? How much controversy will Chris Brown cause?
Here's what's happened so far.
8 p.m. -- The show opens with a performance of "Mercy" featuring Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz and, of course, Kanye West. The censors are already busy. Kanye treats us to a nice freestyle session. Yes, I believe he performs a verse about being in love with Kim. Conveniently, Kim Kardashian is in the audience.
8:08 -- Samuel L. Jackson is in the house! He and Spike Lee perform their version of a certain rap song that involves Paris. Thoughts?
8:11 -- Best Group is The Throne. Kanye West accepts the award...until Jay-Z arrives on stage. Surprise! He's also flaunting a pretty sweet suit.
8:20 -- Usher performs "Climax." Holy falsetto.
8:24 -- Best Actor is Kevin Hart. "First of all, I knew I would win," he jokes. "Right now, this is a gift to you."
8:26 -- Sportswoman of the Year is Serena Williams. Sportsman of the Year is Kevin Durant.
8:30 -- Best New Artist is Big Sean. His mom joined him at the show.
8:34 -- Gospel time! Jessica Reedy, Amber Bullock, Y'Anna Crawley and Yolanda Adams perform.
8:44 -- Chante Moore performs a tribute to Donna Summer.
8:45 -- Best Male Artist is Chris Brown. Short acceptance speech.
8:47 -- Time to showcase an emerging artist: Charles Perry
8:51 -- Nicki Minaj performs "Champion." Right when I'm about to say it's pretty tame, the fire on stage starts. And now, Nicki is wearing a lace bodysuit as she kicks off "Beez In The Trap." Yes, the censors are busy once again. Well hello, 2 Chainz. He joins her on stage.
8:57 -- Best Collaboration is Wale featuring Miguel for "Lotus Flower Bomb."
9:06 -- Melanie Fiona sings "Wrong Side of a Love Song." Really beautiful performance.
9:11 -- Time for a pre-filmed "Real Husbands of Hollywood" comedy bit starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Hart and more.
9:13: -- Best Gospel goes to Yolanda Adams. "This is amazing to me because this is the first project on my label," she says. "I am a witness that you can do anything that God has placed on the inside of you."
9:22 -- Let's welcome D'Angelo out of hibernation. Wow...he looks slightly different as he takes the stage to perform. His body isn't as, um, breathtaking as I remember. Perhaps there is some slight weight gain involved. If you'd like to catch up on your D'Angelo history, click here. This is all too random for me.
9:31 -- Best Female R&B Artist is Beyonce. Woo hoo! She dedicates the award to Whitney Houston. She looks gorgeous.
9:42 -- Kevin Hart is on stage, jokingly ranting about Samuel L. Jackson
9:44 -- Maybach Music Group performs with Rick Ross
9:49 -- Best Female Hip-Hop Artist is Nicki Minaj. Wow, her outfit is...interesting. Those skin-tight leggings/pants are a bit much.
9:52 -- Time to meet another emerging artist: Jennah Bell
9:58 -- Tribute to Maze featuring Frankie Beverly...it includes performances by Joe, Tyrese, Faith Evans and, of course, the honorees. OK, I'm not sure this needed to last 20 minutes. End time 10:19 p.m.
10:27 -- Video of the Year goes to The Throne (Jay-Z and Kanye West) for "Otis." During the acceptance speech, Jay-Z pulls a funny one: "Kanye, Imma let you continue but..." So, I guess everyone's over that Taylor Swift incident now. Good to know.
10:31 -- Time for an exclusive sneak peek of "Django Unchained."
10:34 -- By the way, Jamie Foxx is wearing a shirt that references the Trayvon Martin case
10:35 -- Time for the highly anticipated(?) Chris Brown performance. Shirtless, he sings "Don't Wake Me Up" while surrounded by ballerinas. Then, he goes into "Turn Up the Music." Oh yeah, half of his chest is painted silver. And...that's it. A little underwhelming, eh?
10:39 -- Quick political soapbox from Samuel L. Jackson: "In this election, we cannot forget our duty to vote."
10:41 -- Rev. Al Sharpton gets the humanitarian award. "Whatever you do, vote. Because this election is not just about Obama. It's about your mama," he says.
10:54 -- Whitney Houston tribute! Mariah Carey takes the stage. "I miss my friend. I miss hearing her voice and laughter," she says in a speech. With that, Monica kicks things off with some gospel music. Brandy sings "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." Whitney's brother sings for a little bit. Then, Whitney's mom, Cissy Houston, sings "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Wow. Chaka Khan wraps things up with "I'm Every Woman."
11:21 -- The Viewers' Choice Award goes to boy band Mindless Behavior
