THE BET "HIP HOP AWARDS" 2018 RETURN TO THE FILLMORE MIAMI BEACH AT JACKIE GLEASON THEATER SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2018

THE BET "HIP HOP AWARDS" 2018 WILL PREMIERE ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018 AT 8PM ET/PT ON BET NETWORKS

DRAKE LEADS WITH 11 NOMINATIONS FOLLOWED BY CARDI B WITH 10 NODS

11 NODS FOR DRAKE INCLUDE 'LYRICIST OF THE YEAR,' 'MVP OF THE YEAR,' 'ALBUM OF THE YEAR,' 'HOT TICKET PERFORMER,' 'HUSTLER OF THE YEAR,' 'BEST COLLABO,' 'SWEET 16,' AND 2 NODS EACH FOR 'BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO' & 'SINGLE OF THE YEAR' CATEGORIES

10 NODS FOR CARDI B INCLUDE 'BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO,' 'ALBUM OF THE YEAR,' 'MVP OF THE YEAR,' 'SINGLE OF THE YEAR,' 'HOT TICKET PERFORMER,' 'MADE-YOU-LOOK AWARD,' 'BEST COLLABO,' AND 2 NODS IN THE 'SWEET 16' CATEGORY

OTHER TOP NOMINEES INCLUDE CHILDISH GAMBINO WITH 6 NODS, TRAVIS SCOTT AND KENDRICK LAMAR WHO BOTH SNAGGED 5 NODS

#HIPHOPAWARDS

New York, NY - September 12, 2018 - The BET "Hip Hop Awards" will return to The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater for the second consecutive year on Saturday, October 6, 2018, and will premiere on Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at 8:00PM ET/PT.

Grammy Award winning, Multi-Platinum artist, Drake leads this year's nominations with an impressive 11 nods. Following the impressive release of Scorpion, Drake's 11 nods includes 'Lyricist of the Year,' 'MVP of the Year,' 'Sweet 16,' 'Album of the Year,' 'Hot Ticket Performer,' 'Hustler of the Year,' 'Best Collabo,' and two nods for the 'Best Hip-Hop Video,' & 'Single of the Year' categories. Cardi B, 2017 Best New Hip-Hop Artist winner, follows closely with an astonishing 10 nominations. With her first official release Invasion of Privacy, the "Bodak Yellow" rapper snags 10 nods including 'Best Hip-Hop Video,' 'Album of the Year,' 'MVP of the Year,' 'Single of the Year,' 'Hot Ticket Performer,' 'Made-You-Look Award,' 'Hustler of the Year,' 'Best Collabo' and 2 nods in the 'Sweet 16' category.

Childish Gambino snagged the third highest nominations with 6 nods including 'Hot Ticket Performer,' 'Lyricist of the Year,' 'MVP of the Year,' 'Best Hip-Hop Video,' and 'Single of The Year,' all of which he will face off against top nominees Cardi B & Drake. Additionally, he snags a nomination for this year's 'Impact Track' award for his first No. 1 hit, "This is America," whose video also garnered director Hiro Murai, his first 'Video Director of the Year' nomination.

Other top nominees for the 2018 awards include Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar, who both received 5 nods, Travis Scott's nominations include 'Hot Ticket Performer,' 'Lyricist of the Year,' 'MVP of the Year,' and the 'Made-You-Look Award (Best Hip-Hop Style).' Kendrick Lamar's nods include 'Hot Ticket Performer,' 'Hustler of the Year,' 'Lyricist of the Year,' 'Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse,' and 'Best Hip Hop Video' for the visuals for "Loyalty" featuring Rihanna.

Additionally, 'Best New Hip-Hop Artist' Award nominees include industry newcomers BlocBoy JB, Juice WRLD, Lil Baby, Rich The Kid, and XXXTentacion who posthumously receives the nomination.

Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment, will serve as Executive Producer of the BET Hip Hop Awards along with Connie Orlando, BET Head of Programming and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, Vice President of Specials, Jesse Collins Entertainment.

See below for the complete list of BET "HIP HOP AWARDS" 2018 Official Nominees:

Best Hip-Hop Video
Cardi B - I Like It Feat. Bad Bunny & J Balvin
Childish Gambino - This Is America
Drake - God's Plan
Kendrick Lamar - Loyalty Feat. Rihanna
Migos - Walk It Talk It Feat. Drake

Hot Ticket Performer
Cardi B
Childish Gambino
Drake
Kendrick Lamar
Travis Scott

Album of the Year
Cardi B - Invasion Of Privacy
Drake - Scorpion
J. Cole - KOD
Migos - Culture II
The Carters - Everything Is Love

Video Director of the Year
Benny Boom
Dave Meyers & The Little Homies
Director X
Eif Rivera
Hiro Murai
Karena Evans

Lyricist of the Year
Childish Gambino
Drake
J. Cole
Kendrick Lamar
Travis Scott

MVP of the Year
Cardi B
Childish Gambino
Drake
J. Cole
Travis Scott

Producer of the Year
Ben Billions
DJ Esco
DJ Mustard
Metro Boomin
Pharrell Williams

Best Collabo, Duo or Group
21 Savage & Offset & Metro Boomin - Ric Flair Drip
BlocBoy JB - Look Alive Feat. Drake
Cardi B - I Like It Feat. Bad Bunny & J Balvin
Post Malone - Rockstar Feat. 21 Savage
The Carters - Apes**t

Single of the Year
Apes**t - Produced By Pharrell (The Carters)
God's Plan - Produced By Cardo, Young Exclusive and Boi-1da (Drake)
I Like It - Produced By Craig Kallman, JWhiteDidIt and Tainy (Cardi B Feat. Bad Bunny & J Balvin)
Nice For What - Produced By Murda Beatz (Drake)
This Is America - Produced By Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson (Childish Gambino)

Best New Hip-Hop Artist
BloBboy JB
Juice Wrld
Lil Baby
Rich The Kid
XXXTentacion

Best Mixtape
BlocBoy JB - Simi
Future - Beast Mode 2
Juicy J - Shut Da F* Up
Lil Wayne - Dedication 6: Reloaded
Zoey Dollaz - Sorry Not Sorry

Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse
21 Savage - "Bartier Cardi" (Cardi B Feat. 21 Savage)
Cardi B - "Motorsport" (Migos Feat. Cardi B & Nicki Minaj)
Drake - "Look Alive" (Blocboy JB Feat. Drake)
Kendrick Lamar - "New Freezer" (Rich The Kid Feat. Kendrick Lamar)
Nicki Minaj - "Big Bank" (Yg Feat. 2 Chainz, Big Sean & Nicki Minaj)

Impact Track
Childish Gambino - This Is America
Dej Loaf & Leon Bridges - Liberated
Lecrae - I'll Find You Feat. Tori Kelly
Meek Mill - Stay Woke Feat. Miguel
N.E.R.D - 1,000 Feat. FUTURE

DJ of the Year
Calvin Harris
DJ Envy
DJ Drama
DJ Khaled
DJ Mustard

BestMade-You-Look Award (Best Hip-Hop Style)
Cardi B
Migos
Nicki Minaj
Remy Ma
Travis Scott

Best Hip-Hop Online Site/App
ALLHIPHOP
Complex
Hot New Hip Hop
Worldstar
XXL

Hustler of the Year
Cardi B
DJ Khaled
Drake
Jay-Z
Kendrick Lamar
Travis Scott

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*Note: BET "Hip Hop Awards" is a private event and tickets are not available for purchase to the public. Talent tickets are reserved for BET "Hip Hop Awards" show talent and nominees.

ABOUT BET NETWORKS:

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: 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; BET HER, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American Woman; BET Music Networks - BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET's growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.

ABOUT JESSE COLLINS ENTERTAINMENT:

Jesse Collins Entertainment (JCE) is a full service television and film production company founded by entertainment industry veteran Jesse Collins. For more than a decade, Collins has played an integral role in producing some of television's most memorable moments in music entertainment. Collins has produced ground-breaking and award winning television programming including the BET Awards, the GRAMMY Awards, Soul Train Awards, BET Honors, UNCF An Evening of Stars, ABFF Awards and the BET Hip Hop Awards. Collins was an executive producer of the hit TV series, Real Husbands of Hollywood starring Kevin Hart, the critically-acclaimed The New Edition Story, a biopic on the boy band that aired as a 3-part mini-series on BET in January 2017 and posted record ratings for the network and attracted nearly 30 million viewers. He is also the executive producer of VH1 shows Dear Mama and Hip Hop Squares with Ice Cube. He has appeared on the cover of Vibe magazine and has been featured in numerous publications including Ebony magazine. JCE recently produced The Bobby Brown Story, which premiered on Sept. 4th & 5th on BET.

ABOUT BET "HIP HOP AWARDS":

BET "Hip Hop Awards" is an annual celebration that pays homage to a culture that changed the world while highlighting the best in hip hop music. Year after year, BET Networks delivers the best in hip-hop for an unforgettable night of performances, cyphers and tributes honoring hip-hop legends that have and continue to make hip-hop culture a global force.