Beyoncé surprises at BET Awards with 'Freedom' performance with Kendrick Lamar

The 2016 BET Awards got off to a fierce, soaking wet start Sunday night when Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar kicked things off with a surprise performance of their uplifting Lemonade anthem, "Freedom." 

Beyoncé's dancers had already made a commanding statement on the red carpet, and they did it again as they entered the Staples Center, walking through the aisles as a portion of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech played. 

The stage was covered with water -- just like it is when she performs the song on her Formation World Tour -- and they all got soaked. Lamar clearly didn't mind getting wet when he took the stage for his verse, and the two then closed the song out together in the water, with Beyoncé wrapping her arm around him in a show of solidarity. 

While Beyoncé's performance was a surprise, there's an A-list group of planned performances ahead, including Usher, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson. Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross are hosting. 

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