There are No Ties in Hip Hop!! BET Names the TOP 10 RAPPERS OF THE 21st CENTURY Friday Night, October 15 at 8 P.M.*

Hosted by Big Tigger

NEW YORK, Oct. 15 -- "Who are the Top 10 Rappers of the 21st century?" BET posed this question to nearly 30,000 viewers and fans. Votes were tabulated on BET.com and the Top 15 rappers were selected. Premiering on Friday, October 15 at 8 p.m.*, BET assembled an elite "Hip Hop Supreme Court" of some of the hottest producers, hip hop deejays, and the industry's biggest influencers to narrow down the list and rank the top 10 coveted positions. Hosted by "Chief Justice" Big Tigger; Jermaine Dupri (producer), Diamond Kuts (DJ - Power 99, Philadelphia), Greg Street (DJ - V103, Atlanta), Tony Neal (Core DJs), Timbuck2 (DJ - 107.5, WGCI, Chicago), Boi 1da (Producer), Chloe Hilliard (Editor, VIBE), Chuck Creekmur (CEO, Allhiphop.com); DJ Vlad (CEO, VladTV.com) make up the distinguished "Hip Hop Supreme Court" judges.

To be eligible for the top 10 rappers of the 21st century, the rapper must be a solo artist who released his or her first solo album in 1999 or later. These requirements exclude hip-hop heavy weights The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Jay Z, Nas, and Snoop from the list. Rappers will also be evaluated on the criteria of flow, lyricism, subject range, cultural impact, sales and digital swagger.

During the intense round table debate, Big Tigger controlled the boardroom and laid down the rules as the judges engaged in a no holds barred dialogue about the 21st century rappers who have changed the game of hip-hop during the past 10 years.

The Top 15 Rappers Of The 21st Century Voted On By BET.com and Mobile Users: (In alphabetical order)

50 Cent
Drake
Eminem
Eve
Fabolous
Game
Gucci Mane
Jadakiss
Kanye West
Lil Wayne
Ludacris
Nelly
Rick Ross
T.I.
Young Jeezy

Let the debate begin. Tune in Friday, October 15 @ 8 p.m.* - log on to BET.com for Virtual Court, where online users can vote on the TOP 10 RAPPERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY using the same tools as the official court.

*All times are ET/PT.

Visit www.bet.com/top10rappers

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, 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 90 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 business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - 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 Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; 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.