T.I. and Soulja Boy added to Hip Hop Awards performers

T.I. and Soulja Boy join previously announced performers Nelly, Lil’ Wayne, Kanye West and Common for the second annual BET HIP HOP AWARDS. Hosted by veteran actor/comedian Katt Williams for the second year in a row, BET HIP HOP AWARDS 2007 is a tribute to urban music artists at the top of their game. Wyclef Jean, Keyshia Cole, Cassidy, Dizzee Rascal, DJ Premiere, Joell Ortiz, Kardinal Offishall, Lil’ Mama, Phonte, Ras Kass and Status Quo will make appearances at the event, which will tape at Atlanta’s Civic Center on Saturday, October 13 and air on BET on Wednesday, October 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

This year’s show will include an appearance by Soulja Boy, one of hip hop’s up-and-coming stars, performing his #1 hit, “Crank Dat.” As part of his performance, Soulja Boy is inviting viewers to showcase their moves by submitting video renditions of themselves doing the “Crank Dat” dance. Lucky fans will have those videos aired at this year’s BET HIP HOP AWARDS 2007 via a video wall to serve as the backdrop during Soulja Boy’s performance. Fans can visit www.bet.com/contests for more information, and all entries must be submitted by Sunday, October 7.

ATL native T.I. leads the BET HIP HOP AWARDS 2007 nominees with nine nods, 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. Also, the legendary hip-hop artist KRS-One, known for his political and socially conscious raps, will be honored with the “I Am Hip Hop” Icon Award.

Last year’s inaugural BET HIP HOP AWARDS 2006 drew an impressive 2.93 rating, which translated into 3.64 million viewers (2.44 million households) according to Nielsen Media Research. The show featured massive hip-hop stars Diddy, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Chamillionaire, Yung Joc, Keyshia Cole, Remy Ma, Rick Ross and the dirty south’s own Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, T.I. and Young Jeezy, among others. Additionally, it honored one of the hip-hop world’s pioneering figures, Grandmaster Flash, with the “I Am Hip Hop” Icon Award.

About BET Networks
BET Networks, a division 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 85 million households according to Nielsen Media Research, and can be seen in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. 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 Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Mobile, a service venture into the lucrative world of ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, an extension of BET network programming for global distribution.