It’s almost that time of the year folks. Billboard has announced the nominees for this year’s ceremony. Rihanna leads the pack with 18 nods, Eminem with 16 and Nicki Minaj pulls in a nod for Top New Artist. The ceremony airs on ABC on May 22 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Full list underneath.

Best Rap Solo Performance Best Rap Performance By Solo Or Duo Best Rap Sung/Collaboration Best Rap Song Before the main event, the Recording Academy gave out several golden gramophones in the hip-hop/urban music categories. So far, Jay-Z leads the pack with three trophies while Eminem takes home one. On the R&B front, John Legend and The Roots rack up three awards for Wake Up!. Meanwhile, Cee-Lo snags one for “Fuck You”.

The BET Hip-Hop Awards airs in nine days, but here are some snaps from yesterday’s taping at the Atlanta Civic Center. From Hammer making an appearance during Ross and Puff’s show opener, to Dipset’s reunion, it was an eventful night minus the Waka foolery of course. Although we got snubbed, Nicki walked away with three awards while Jay, Eminem, and Drake, who were all absent, won respectively. See who showed up after the jump.

Eminem presented Dr.Dre with an ASCAP Founding Fathers Award last night at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. It’s still a Shady/Aftermath thing, you bastards. ru x rtny

[sparkart-clique site=”rap_radar” video=”kanye_vmas”] During Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech tonight for Best Female Video at the MTV Awards, Kanye West Gay Fish interrupts the country singer when Beyoncé doesn’t win. What an asshole. Sidebar: Hov’s probably pissed. “This Bryan Barber, I’m so mad at him,” says Jay, shaking his head in the back of a chauffeur-driven black BMW. “He goes up to accept the award for best video [for UGK feat. OutKast’s “Int’l Player’s Anthem” (I Chose You)]. This is clearly […]