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Kanye West and UGK lead BET awards

BET's annual awards show was held at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium last night, with Kanye West and UGK leading the broadcast in wins with two nods each. As the former accepted his award for best male hip-hop artist, he said, "This is my fiercest competition. Congratulations on selling 1 million ... and they say hip-hop is dead." West also won best collaboration for the T-Pain-backed "Good Life."

As for UGK, they won best group and video of the year ("International Player's Anthem"). Reached backstage for a comment by Billboard.com, Bun B simply said, "If you keep it real, people will come out and support."

Other winners included Alicia Keys (best female R&B artist), Chris Brown (best male R&B artist), Missy Elliott (best female hip-hop artist), and lifetime achievement award honoree Al Green. While the R&B legend performed "Let's Stay Together" and "Love and Happiness," Maxwell and Jill Scott paid tribute to Green beforehand.

—ARTISTdirect staff
06.25.08