Fans Get Up Close and Personal With Favorite Entertainers at BET Fan Fest

BET Fan Fest, which features a host of activities, events and live entertainment, was held once again in the days leading up to the 2017 BET Awards.

Spread out over the L.A. Live campus in downtown Los Angeles, BET Experience and Fan Fest events took place at such venues as the Los Angeles Convention Center, Staples Center, Microsoft Theater and the Novo.

While many of the BET Experience concerts were ticketed, Fan Fest free as long as the attendee registered for and received a wristband. Fan Fest featured several seminars, celebrity panels and an expo, in addition to live performances from some of their favorite artists, including Cardi B,Dave East, Kap G, A Boogie, PnB Rock and Kyle.

Rising artists, such as Taylor Girlz, Zay Hilfigerr and Zayion McCall (“Juju On That Beat”), the Bomb Digz, Christian Combs, and Spencer Ludwig performed on the Coca-Cola Music Studio stage.

Celebrity Basketball Game

The Celebrity Basketball Game, arguably the most popular event during Fan Fest, this year featured some of today’s biggest celebrities, including Chris Brown, The Game, Nick Cannon, Trevor Jackson, Young M.A. Rotimi, Stevie J, Flex Alexander and Doug Christie. ESPN’s Jemele Hill and Michael Smith were guest announcers for the game. Fat Joe coached the Shot Callers team and Irv Gotti coached the opposing team, the Ballers. In the end, the Shot Callers lost to the Ballers by two points.

McDonald’s Pool Groove

McDonald’s hosted a star-studded pool groove event on the L.A. Live campus that featured a performance from Fat Joe and DJ D-Nice on the ones and twos. Celebrity guests included Lance Gross, Toya Wright and Angela Yee. Guests were treated to free McDonald’s, including their classic French fries, Mango Pineapple smoothies and BBQ bacon burgers.

Genius Talks Panel Series

One of the highlights of the Fan Fest was the Genius Talks panel series, which was hosted by radio host cytand author Charlamagne tha God. The series featured chats with some of the biggest stars and directors in entertainment, including Issa Rae (Insecure), Ava DuVernay (Queen Sugar) and Tracee Ellis- Ross, who discussed what “Black Girl Magic” means.

“I think it means so many things but I think it’s also black girl reality,” Ellis-Ross told Charlamagne. “I think black girl magic is really real. I think it has to do with style, power, a sense of self, a clarity of self, really. It’s something about that black girl expression that I love but I also want to bring the reality into it because black girls are real and black girl magic comes from the real things we do.”

R&B group New Edition was featured in the series as well, discussing their top-rated BET film, “The New Edition Story.” Nick Cannon also joined Charlamagne for the series, discussing how to build a brand in addition to fatherhood.

There was also a special presentation, “BET News Presents Keeping Us Locked: Fighting the Preschool to Prison Pipeline,” which featured rapper Pusha T, political commentator Angela Rye and Baltimore, Maryland State Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

Kicksexperience

There was even something for sneaker enthusiasts at the BET Experience Fan Fest. Kicksexperience was held during the Fan Fest, featuring fan meet-and-greets, live performances and give-a-ways. This area of the Convention Center featured thousands of new, rare and collectible sneakers. There were also sneaker give-a-ways, including those featuring Yeezys and Air Jordans. Joey Bada$$ and Fat Joe also held special meet-and-greets during the Kicksperience.

BET Experience Fashion & Beauty

BET Fan Fest also featured several fashion shows, hair styling demonstrations and panel discussions. There was a Motions Hair Demonstration that was followed by a catwalk fashion show. Macy’s also hosted the Summer Look Fashion Show, and the Barbershop Talk Parlor Station panel was held.

Video from the BET Experience Fan Fest is below.