Kanye West Gets BET Awards Off To A G.O.O.D. Start

Kanye West and his G.O.O.D. Music crew, including Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz, opened the 2012 BET Awards with some fireworks followed by a victory for West and his Throne partner Jay-Z as Best Group.

After the G.O.O.D. trio, minus West, came out verse-by-verse to perform their summer jam "Mercy," Kanye hit the stage to perform "Way Too Cold" and then hushed the crowd with a ferocious a cappella freestyle.

West's freestyle, which touched on current topics like Whitney Houston and the Miami Heat's victory in the NBA Finals, set a loose, high-energy tone for the evening. "Went from being the most hated to the God flow/ I guess that's a feeling only me and LeBron know," Kanye rapped after cutting off "Way Too Cold" with a line that mentioned his trademark shoes. "These Yeezys jumped over the Jumpman," he spit with a sly smile.

With Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz hyping up the crowd, West let loose with the surprising hyper-lyrical freestyle to conclude an energetic performance by the entire crew.

Opening the festivities with "Mercy," the group performed on a set with sharp lasers and a gigantic Lamborghini in the background. After concluding the track without West's verse, he rose out of the car's center to rapturous applause, launching into the Hit-Boy-produced, Theraflu name-checking track.

The ultra-fashionable group, as promised, also made headlines by switching from an all-black wardrobe to its exact opposite. For the collective's first live television performance, each rapper wore an All White Everything wardrobe as their expletive-filled verses eluded censors.

After being off the stage for only a few minutes, West returned, along with a surprise appearance from Jay-Z, to accept honors for Best Group. West originally started the acceptance alone, joking that he always says the worst things in these situations and that only Jay-Z could keep him proper. Jay, to huge applause, then appeared to thank the crowd for the award.