Cardi B leads the 2026 BET Awards nominations as Kendrick Lamar and Mariah the Scientist give chase

Cardi B has emerged as the act to beat at this year's BET Awards, leading the 2026 nominations with six nods. The rapper's haul places her clear of a field that includes Kendrick Lamar and Mariah the Scientist, who tie for second with five nominations apiece.

The nominations, revealed in the run-up to the ceremony, span the headline categories and several genre-specific honours, and arrive alongside the introduction of two brand-new awards. The 26th edition of the show is set to air live on Sunday 28 June from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, with comedian Druski hosting for the first time.

Cardi B out in front

Cardi B's six nominations cut across the ceremony's biggest categories. She is up for Best Female Hip Hop Artist and Album of the Year for 'AM I THE DRAMA?', and features in the Viewers' Choice race for 'Outside'. Her collaborative work also drew recognition, with a Best Collaboration nod for the 'Errtime Remix' alongside Jeezy and Latto.

Crucially, she also figures in two of the show's newly minted categories, underlining how BET is attempting to broaden its remit beyond traditional musical achievement to reflect cultural and visual influence.

Kendrick Lamar and the chasing pack

Kendrick Lamar's five nominations are anchored by his continued run of high-profile collaborations. He is nominated for Best Collaboration twice over, for 'Chains & Whips' with Clipse and 'Good Flirts' with Baby Keem and Momo Boyd, and is in the running for Best Male Hip Hop Artist. His work with SZA on 'luther' earns a Video of the Year nod, while 'Chains & Whips' also lands in the Viewers' Choice category.

Mariah the Scientist's five nominations complete the trio at the top, marking a strong showing for the singer and reflecting a broader R&B presence across this year's slate.

• Cardi B – six nominations, including Album of the Year for 'AM I THE DRAMA?' and Best Female Hip Hop Artist
• Kendrick Lamar – five nominations, including Best Male Hip Hop Artist and two Best Collaboration nods
• Mariah the Scientist – five nominations
• Two new categories debut: the Fashion Vanguard Award and the Pulse Award
• Host: Druski, making his BET Awards hosting debut
• Ceremony: Sunday 28 June, Peacock Theater, Los Angeles

“This year's nominations reflect both the continued dominance of hip-hop and a deliberate effort to recognise cultural impact across fashion and digital media.”

— A representative for the awards

Two new categories

The introduction of the Fashion Vanguard Award and the Pulse Award signals BET's intent to keep pace with how influence is measured in 2026. The former recognises style and fashion impact, an arena in which several nominees, Cardi B among them, have built brands well beyond their music. The latter is positioned to honour cultural and digital reach, a nod to the way moments now travel online as much as on radio or television.

The additions reflect a wider trend across awards bodies, which have been adjusting their categories to account for the blurred lines between music, fashion, social media and broader celebrity.

They also speak to the way the modern hip-hop and R&B economy works. For today's biggest acts, a hit single is only one part of a much larger footprint that spans fashion lines, viral moments and digital community, and an awards show that ignored those dimensions would risk feeling out of step with the culture it exists to celebrate. By formalising recognition for fashion and cultural reach, BET is acknowledging where influence increasingly lives.

Background

The BET Awards were established in 2001 to celebrate Black achievement across music, film, sport and culture, and have grown into one of the most-watched nights on the entertainment calendar. The ceremony has long served as both a celebration and a barometer of the hip-hop and R&B landscape, with its Viewers' Choice category in particular offering a fan-driven counterpoint to the juried awards.

The Viewers' Choice category, decided by fans rather than a panel, adds an additional layer of intrigue. With Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar and others all in contention, the public vote often produces the night's most closely watched outcome, a direct measure of which records and moments have genuinely cut through over the past year.

What happens next: with the nominations set, attention turns to the 28 June ceremony, where Cardi B's front-running tally will be tested against a strong field. Beyond the trophies, the night offers a snapshot of where the culture sits in mid-2026, and the debut of two new categories suggests BET is keen to keep that snapshot current.