Kanye West is used to being top of the awards pile, so it's no surprise to announce that Yeezy will be up for no less than seven gongs at the annual Bet Awards - more than anyone else, even his mentor and good pal Jay Z. Hova has the consolation at least that the Carter/Knowles marriage has more nominations combined, with his wife Beyonce up for six nominations and he himself up for five. Jay and Ye are nominated jointly for an award after their 'Watch The Throne' videos for 'In Paris' and 'Otis' were named in the shortlist for video of the year. Beyonce too has two nominations in that category, for 'Love On Top' and 'Countdown,' with Usher making up the full shortlist.
The rest of the nominees reads like a who's who of urban music, with Lil Wayne, Drake, J Cole and Chris Brown also competing in multiple categories - Brown will be among the performers on the night itself, July 1st, with Nicki Minaj also slated to play.
West and Jay Z are currently out on tour in support of their 'Watch The Throne' project, having thrilled US audiences earlier this year. Their first five nights in the UK took place at London's O2 Arena and were a massive success, with Rihanna even joining them on the third night for a couple of songs; they move to mainland Europe at the end of the week.