KANYE WEST LEADS THE BET HIP-HOP AWARDS '09 NOMINEES. KEMI COVERED LAST YEAR.

Kanye West Leads The Pack With Nine Nominations As Hip-Hop's Crowning Night Returns to Atlanta on Saturday, October 10 and Premieres on BET Tuesday, October 27 at 8:00 p.m. Ice Cube Will Be Honored as This Year's "I AM HIP-HOP" Icon Award Recipient

The Late DJ AM is Among the Nominees for DJ of the Year.

The BET HIP-HOP AWARDS '09 nominations were announced last night on 106 & PARK, along with the highly respected renowned rapper, actor, screenwriter, film producer and director Ice Cube who will receive this year's "I AM HIP-HOP" Icon Award. Hosted by actor and comedian Mike Epps, the hip-hop event of the year returns to Atlanta's Boisfeuillet Jones Civic Center on Saturday, October 10 to celebrate the biggest names in the game - both on the mic and in the community. The BET HIP-HOP AWARDS '09 will premiere Tuesday, October 27 at 8:00 PM.

The Hip-Hop Awards Voting Academy which is comprised of journalists, industry executives, and fans has nominated rapper, producer and style aficionado Kanye West for an impressive nine awards. Jay Z and Lil Wayne follow closely behind with seven nominations, and T.I. rounds things off with six nominations. Additionally, BET has added two new nomination categories to this year's show -- "Made-You-Look Award" (Best Hip Hop Style) which will go to the ultimate trendsetter and "Best Hip-Hop Blog Site," which will go to the online site that consistently keeps hip-hop fans in the know non-stop.

Thanks to Lyntina Townsend from BET Communications who gave HipHossip Canada the opportunity to cover last year's award. We are partners with BET Online and the only blog that promotes BET here up North. I have highlighted our picks!

The following are the nominees and categories for the 2009 BET HIP-HOP AWARDS:

  Best Hip-Hop Collabo
  Jim Jones & Ron Browz f/ Juelz Santana - Pop Champagne
  Lil Wayne f/ Bobby Valentino - Mrs. Officer
  Rick Ross f/ John Legend - Magnificent
  T.I. f/ Rihanna - Live Your Life
  Young Jeezy f/ Kanye West - Put On

  Best Live Performer
  Busta Rhymes
  Jay-Z
  Lil Wayne
  T.I.
  Kanye West

  Lyricist of the Year
  Drake
  Eminem
  Jay-Z
  Lil Wayne
  Kanye West

  Video Director of the Year
  Gil Green
  Anthony Mandler
  Mr. Boomtown
  Chris Robinson
  Hype Williams

  Producer of the Year
  Ron Browz
  Cool & Dre
  Tha Bizness
  T-Pain
  Kanye West

  Track of the Year
  Day "N" Nite - Kid Cudi
  D.O.A. (Death of Auto Tune) - Jay-Z
  Every Girl - Young Money (Lil Wayne, Drake, Jae Mills, Gudda Gudda & Mack Maine)
  Live Your Life - T.I. f/ Rihanna
  Turn My Swag On - Soulja Boy Tell'em

  CD of the Year
  Eminem - Relapse
  Q-Tip - The Renaissance
  T.I. - Paper Trail
  Kanye West - 808 & Heartbreak
  Young Jeezy - The Recession

  Rookie of the Year
  B.O.B.
  Dorrough
  Drake
  Kid Cudi
  Wale

  Best Hip-Hop Video
  Dorrough - Ice Cream Paint Job
  Eminem - We Made You
  Jay-Z - D.O.A. (Death of Auto Tune)
  Kid Cudi - Day "N" Nite
  T.I. f/ Rihanna - Live Your Life

  MVP of the Year
  Drake
  Jay-Z
  Lil Wayne
  T.I.
  Kanye West

  DJ of the Year
  DJ AM
  DJ Drama
  DJ Khaled
  DJ Tony Neal
  DJ Greg Street

  Hustler of the Year
  Diddy
  Drake
  Jay-Z
  Lil Wayne
  Kanye West

  Made-You-Look Award (Best Hip-Hop Style)
  Jay-Z
  Kid Cudi
  Lil Wayne
  Soulja Boy Tell'em
  Kanye West

  Best Hip-Hop Blog Site
  All Hip Hop
  Nah Right
  SOHH
  This Is 50
  World Star Hip Hop

  People's Champ (Viewers Choice)
  Dorrough - Ice Cream Paint Job
  Fabolous f/ The-Dream - Throw It In The Bag
  Kid Cudi - Day "N" Nite
  Soulja Boy Tell'em - Turn My Swag On
  Kanye West f/ Young Jeezy - Amazing

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BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) (NYSE: VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 98 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of businesses extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET Digital Networks - BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip-Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.