Your Complete Guide to BET Experience: Dates, Lineups, Tickets and More

Culture

The 2016 BET Experience is prepping for a huge weekend of fashion, entertainment, lectures and marquee hip-hop from acts like Future, Desiigner, Fetty Wap, 2 Chainz and Kehlani. 

Hosted over the weekend of June 23 to June 26 at the L.A. Live entertainment complex in downtown Los Angeles, the festival serves as a companion to the BET Awards, airing Sunday June 26.

The BET Experience is made up of a sprawling collection of free and ticketed events including celebrity basketball game, music industry seminars, Genius Talks from influencers like DJ Khaled and Devon Franklin, health clinics, fashion shows, dance competitions and, of course, performances of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B.

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Lineup

Usher and Bryson Tiller will kick off the festivities Friday with a performance at the Staples Center, followed by an late-night performance by Metroboomin' at The Novo by Microsoft. Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz, who recently collaborated on the March-released Collegrove project, will hold down Saturday's prime time with the Roots taking over Club Novo. 

Saturday, Desiigner, Kevin GatesFat Joe, Remy Ma and more will be live on the BETX main stage, while up-and-coming artists like Kodie Shane, Jacquees and Chloe x Halle will perform in the smaller Coca-Cola Music Studio. 

Check out the full list of performers and venues here.

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The Celebrity Basketball Game

The annual celebrity basketball game has an even more stacked line-up, with Omarion, Snoop Dogg, Wale, Syd the Kid, Nick Cannon, Meek Mill, Floyd Mayweather, the Game and more competing for glory on the court. 

The game goes down in the L.A. Convention Center West Hall, Exhibit Hall B at 1 p.m. Tickets are free but currently sold out through the BET site.

Walik Goshorn / Retna Ltd. / MediaPunch/AP

Genius Talks

Several free Genius Talks speaking with influencers, moguls and artists are scheduled over the course of the weekend. DJ Khaled will offer his keys to success Saturday. Gabrielle Union and Melissa Harris-Perry will talk the state of black women in Hollywood, and the cast of BET's Music Moguls — Snoop Dogg, Birdman and Jermaine Dupri — will sit down for a panel discussion. Gospel icon Kirk Franklin will close out the series alongside DeVon Franklin on Sunday before the award show goes live in the evening.

Check out the full list of events and download an app to help manage the hectic schedule here.

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