Kanye West and Usher to receive 2015 BET honours

Kanye West will receive the visionary award at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) honours.

The 37-year-old is one of five acts to be honoured for their achievements in art, music, theatre, technology and business at the ceremony.

Usher, whose hits include Yeah and Confessions, will receive the music award for his two-decade career.

Phylicia Rashad, best known in the UK as The Cosby Show’s Clair Huxtable, is to receive the theatrical arts award.

Her credits on Broadway and in regional theatre include August: Osage County, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Medea and Raisin in the Sun, for which she won a Tony Award.

Director of the National Museum of African Art, Dr Johnnetta Betsch Cole, will pick up the education award.

John W Thompson, who replaced Bill Gates as chairman of Microsoft earlier this year, will be honoured with the technology and business award.

West, who among the acts being rumoured as a headliner for next year’s Glastonbury Festival, is one of the most successful rappers of his generation.

His sonically adventurous, genre-defying albums have generated hits like Gold Digger, Stronger and Black Skinhead, while his innovative live performances have incorporated ballet, Margiela masks and striking production design from Britain’s Es Devlin.

The performer’s notoriously spiky interviews and awards show interventions have also made headlines around the world.

The BET Awards were established in 2001 to honour African Americans and other minorities working in multiple disciplines.

Past honourees include Dr Maya Angelou, who received the literary arts award in 2012 and Whitney Houston, who received the entertainers award in 2010.

The 2015 Honours, presented by Wayne Brady, will take place at the Warner Theatre in Washington on 24 January and will be shown on the BET channel on 23 February.

(Source: BBC News)