BET’s HIP HOP AWARDS taped in Atlanta on October 18th and will be aired this Thursday, October 23rd at 8:00pm EST.  The Awards were hosted by T-Pain, who replaced originally scheduled comedian Katt Williams.  There were a number of great performances, with appearances by LL Cool J, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, The Game, Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Common, Lady of Rage, Salt N Pepa, Jada Kiss, Nelly, Ciara, Keyshia Cole, Lil Wayne, Plies and many more.

Russell Simmons received the “I Am Hip-Hop” icon award for his notable contributions to the hip-hop community. ‘Blood Diamond Russ’ received the Lifetime Achievement Award and Lil Wayne won three awards, Lyricist of ‘08, MVP of the Year, and the People’s Champ while Shawty Lo won MySpace Rookie of the Year.  A special tribute was made to the female pioneers in hip-hop who paved the way in this male-dominated industry.  This year’s show was politically charged with Obama in the running, and there was much reference to the upcoming election.

There were numerous after-parties, including the official BET event at DreamzATL hosted by Lil Wayne with a performance by T.I. and a party at E.S.S.O. featuring Young Jeezy and Plies.  Last year's BET HIP HOP AWARDS drew a 2.5 rating, which translates into an impressive 3.3 million viewers.  It was the #1 hip hop themed telecast for the second consecutive year, according to Nielsen Media Research.