Singer Keyshia Cole made her rise in the music industry during the pre-streaming era of the early 2000s, starting with her 2005 platinum-selling debut album The Way It Is. Despite her impressive discography and global appeal for nearly a decade, many of Cole’s fans believe her work has never received the laurels and accolades it deserves.

The 39-year-old artist took to her social media last week and fired shots at award shows, specifically the BET Awards, for undervaluing and overlooking her contribution to the music industry, online blog The Jasmine Brand reports. 

On Friday, Cole reposted a message from a fan to her Instagram story criticizing BET executives for not acknowledging the singer despite her performing at its award show five straight years during the peak of her career.

“All these award shows have been a mess from the start. Let’s talk about how Keyshia Cole had a hit show on BET for 3 seasons and 3 platinum selling number 1 albums and probably close to a dozen hit singles and didn’t even get a BET award. Keyshia performed at the BET awards 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010!! and not 1 award!! #keyshiacole,” one person on Instagram shared.

Without adding much, Cole shared the fan’s statement with a caption that plainly read, “This is a repost.”

More fans took to social media to side with the singer and question why she hasn’t received recognition for her work.

One Cole supporter said the cultural importance of the song “Love” to the Black community is enough to warrant an award from the Black entertainment network.

“You mean to tell me The Keyshia Cole never won a BET Award ? The same awards for strictly black artists ? Like she wasn’t playing all the time in the early 2000s radio 24/7 ? Like her song Love wasn’t a culture reset in every black girl’s life ?” the Twitter user wrote.

Another fan wrote that it's time for people to give Cole her flowers and stop undermining her value. 

Others reflected on Cole's contribution to the world of reality TV. 

Earlier this month, the 39-year-old revealed on Instagram that she’s participating in a Verzuz against an opponent that has not yet been revealed. Since the summer, people have been speculating that a great matchup for Cole would be singing star Ashanti.

According to Source Magazine, Ashanti said during an Instagram Live conversation with Fat Joe that she is open to going up against Cole.

“Listen, if they want to see it. I ain’t mad,” she told the rapper.

The most recent Verzuz session saw rappers Jeezy and Gucci Mane hash out their old beef on stage, culminating in a fan-service performance of the controversial song “So Icy” that supposedly started their feud. Verzuz co-creator Swizz Beatz announced viewership for the rappers’ episode was watched by 9.1 million people, according to Complex. 

"This viewership number from last night actually makes Verzuz bigger in ratings than the MTV VMAs, NBC's The Voice, the Billboard Awards, the CMAs, the Latin Grammys, Dancing With the Stars, or The Masked Singer, respectively, on any given night for those primetime shows this year," Beatz said.

Cole had a vice grip on the music charts in the 2000s with hits like, “I Should Have Cheated,” “Love,” “Let It Go” and more. Her first three albums went platinum and she is a pioneer in reality TV as her hit show ”Keyshia Cole: The Way It is” aired on BET for three seasons.

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