Rap superstar Lil Wayne looks set to dominate the 2011 Bet Hip Hop Awards after landing 18 nominations.
The Lollipop hitmaker is enjoying a great week after selling almost one million copies of his new release Tha Carter IV to top the U.S. album charts on Wednesday (06Sep11), and now he's leading the way at the annual music ceremony.
He will go up against Jay Z and Kanye West for the titles of Best Live Performer, Hustler of the Year and Lyricist of the Year, for which he will also face competition from his protegee Nicki Minaj.
His song 6 Foot 7 Foot is up for Track of the Year and Best Club Banger, while his feature on Kelly Rowland's hit tune Motivation is nominated for Best Featured Verse.
West and Wiz Khalifa will both battle for nine top awards each, including CD of the Year - West for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Khalifa for Rolling Papers.
Other multiple nominees include Rick Ross (eight) and Busta Rhymes (six).
The winners will be unveiled at a ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia on 1 October (11). Comedian Mike Epps is set to host the awards.