Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar Open the 2016 BET Awards With 'Freedom'

The performance began with Bey’s dancers strutting through the audience as a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. echoed throughout the room. Once they joined Beyoncé onstage they, Vulture reports, broke into choreography from the Lemonade tour. Stomping a water-drenched stage, singer and dancers together were wild and urgent.

And to top it off, Kendrick Lamar emerged mid-song to deliver his verse. He and Bey brought it home as they high-kicked the water, flames erupting behind them.