MAIN Art & ... Pop Culture 2007 BET Hip Hop Awards

Following their 2006 debut, the BET Hip Hop Awards this year were once again hosted in Atlanta by Katt Williams with live performances by Nelly, Lil' Wayne, Kanye West and Common.

Atlanta's own T.I. led the pack in 2007 with a total of nine nominations in various categories including Best Live Performance, CD of the Year, Best Collabo, Track of the Year and Lyricist of the Year.

Perhaps the biggest news, however, happened offstage as T.I. made headlines for his arrest by the FBI on the very day of the live awards show. Official charges brought against the rapper included an attempted purchase of a machine gun and silencer.

Other performers with multiple nods included Lil' Wayne with seven, Kanye West with six, Common with five, Jay-Z with four, Ludacris and 50 Cent with three, and Diddy and UGK with two.

The BET Hip Hop Awards took place live on Saturday, October 13 at the Atlanta Civic Center, and will be televised on BET on Wednesday evening, October 17 at 8 PM ET/PT.

2007 BET Hip Hop Award Nominees & * Winners

Best Hip Hop Video
* Kanye West, Stronger
50 Cent, I Get Money
Chamillioinaire f/ Slick Rick, Hip Hop Police
Common, The People
Ludacris f/ Mary J. Blige, Runaway Love
UGK f/ Outkast, International Players Anthem

Best Collabo
* UGK f/ Outkast, International Players Anthem
Birdman & Lil' Wayne, Stuntin' Like My Daddy
Diddy f/ Keyshia Cole, Last Night
DJ Khaled f/ Akon, T.I., We Takin' Over
Rick Ross, Fat Joe, and Lil' Wayne
Fabolous f/ Ne-Yo, Make Me Better

Best Live Performance
* Kanye West
Common
Lil' Wayne
T.I.
Ludacris

Best Dance
* Crank Dat Soulja Boy
2 Step
Aunt Jackie
Chicken Noodle Soup
Pop, Lock, & Drop It

Lyricist of the Year
* Common
Lil' Wayne
Jay-Z
Kanye West
T.I.

Producer of the Year
* Timbaland
Mannie Fresh
Polow Da Don
Swizz Beatz
Kanye West

MVP
* Lil' Wayne
Common
Jay-Z
T.I.
Kanye West

Track of the Year
* Party Like A Rockstar, Da Shop Boyz
A Bay Bay, Hurricane Chris
Big Things Poppin' (Do It) T.I.
Can't Tell Me Nothing, Kanye West
I Get Money, 50 Cent

CD of the Year
* T.I., T.I. vs. T.I.P. (Tie)
* Common, Finding Forever (Tie)
Jay-Z, Kingdom Come
Ludacris, Release Therapy
Nas, Hip Hop Is Dead

Rookie of the Year
* Rich Boy
Hurricane Chris
Lil Boosie
MIMS
Plies

DJ of the Year
* DJ Khaled
DJ Drama
DJ Enuff
DJ Irie
Tony Neal

Hustler of the Year
* 50 Cent
Diddy
Lil' Wayne
T.I.
Jay-Z

also see -> BET Awards

50 Cent | Black Eyed Peas | Beyonce

Ciara | Destiny's Child | Eminem | Whitney Houston | Janet Jackson

Jay-Z | JoJo | Lil Jon | Ludacris | Nelly | Outkast | Shakira

Snoop Dogg | Usher | Kanye West