BET Awards: Kevin Hart shades Diddy, Cardi B and Ye

Kevin Hart is coming out swinging at the BET Awards ... poking fun at Diddy, Cardi B and Kanye West in his opening monologue.

The comedian started off with a Diddy joke ... telling the crowd at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles they would be wise to avoid any after-parties where things get "slippery."

Kevin said we've all been learning a lot about folks recently and said other things to steer clear from include yachts, boats and pink stuff ... name-dropping Cardi and referencing the recent controversy involving her boyfriend, NFL player Stefon Diggs.

It's interesting ... Kevin used Waymos in his joke ... and some of the driverless cars got torched during this weekend's protests over immigration raids in L.A. ... with some demonstrations going down close to the BET Awards venue.

Kevin then turned his sights to Kanye ... with a bit about the new "Sinners" movie with Michael B. Jordan.

KH went for the jugular in his monologue, and knowing him, the jabs won't end there.