Hip hop

Hip hop or hip-hop is a sub-cultural movement that formed during the early 1970s by African-American and Puerto Rican youths residing in the South Bronx in New York City. It became popular outside of the African-American community in the late 1980s and by the 2000s became the most listened-to musical genre in the world. It is characterized by four distinct elements, all of which represent the different manifestations of the culture: rap music (oral), turntablism or DJing (aural), b-boying (physical) and graffiti art (visual). Even while it continues to develop globally in myriad styles, these four foundational elements provide coherence to hip hop culture. The term is often used in a restrictive fashion as synonymous only with the oral practice of rap music.

The origin of the hip hop culture stems from the block parties of the Ghetto Brothers, when they plugged in the amplifiers for their instruments and speakers into the lampposts on 163rd Street and Prospect Avenue and used music to break down racial barriers, and from DJ Kool Herc at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, where Herc mixed samples of existing records with his own shouts to the crowd and dancers. Kool Herc is credited as the "father" of hip hop. DJ Afrika Bambaataa of the hip hop collective Zulu Nation outlined the pillars of hip hop culture, to which he coined the terms: MCing or "Emceein", DJing or "Deejayin", B-boying and graffiti writing or "Aerosol Writin".

BET Awards

The BET Awards were established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate African Americans and other minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year.

The awards are presented annually, and are broadcast live on BET. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by artists, and some of the awards of more popular interest are presented in a televised ceremony.

Trophy

The BET Award Trophy was inspired by three words - aspire, ascend, achieve. The BET Award Trophy was designed by artist/sculptor Carlos "Mare139" Rodriguez. OutKast won the first BET award. In 2007, Society Awards, the New York firm who manufacturers the award, enhanced the quality of the trophy design using plated steel and black crystal.

Ratings

TV ratings (in millions):

List of ceremonies

The inaugural ceremony in 2001 was held at the Paris resort on the Las Vegas Strip. From 2002 to 2005, the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood hosted the awards. From 2006 to 2012, the ceremonires have been held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The ceremony was moved to the Microsoft Theatre at L.A. Live in 2013.

BET Hip Hop Awards

The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006, was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, was first aired November 15 and was hosted by comedian Katt Williams.

The second ceremony was held on October 13, 2007 and aired on October 17 of the same year. Like its predecessor, the ceremony was also held at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, and was hosted by Katt Williams. The third ceremony premiered on October 23, 2008. This ceremony was not hosted by Katt Williams, but instead was hosted by popular R&B and hip hop artist T-Pain. The fourth ceremony was held on October 10, 2009 and was hosted by Mike Epps and aired on October 27. The fifth ceremony was held on October 2, 2010 (aired October 12) and was also by hosted Mike Epps. Epps would go on to host two additional years (2011 & 2012), while Snoop Dogg hosted in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Award

An award is something given to a person, a group of people, or an organization to recognize their excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signified by trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons. An award may carry a monetary prize given to the recipient; for example, the Nobel Prize for contributions to society or the Pulitzer Prize for literary achievements. An award may also simply be a public acknowledgment of excellence, without any tangible token or prize.

Overview

Awards can be given by any person or institution, although the prestige of an award usually depends on the status of the awarder. Usually, awards are given by an organization of some sort, or by the office of an official within an organization or government. For instance, a special presidential citation (as given by the President of the United States) is a public announcement giving an official place of honor (e.g., President Ronald Reagan gave a special presidential citation in 1984 to the Disney Channel for its excellent children's television programming.)

BET

Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by the BET Networks division of Viacom. It is the most prominent television network targeting African American audiences, and currently reaches more than 88 million households. The channel is headquartered in Washington, D.C..

Programming on the network consists of original and acquired television series, theatrically- and home video-released movies, and mainstream rap, hip-hop and R&B music videos. As of February 2015, approximately 88,255,000 American households (75.8% of households with television) receive BET.

History

After stepping down as a lobbyist for the cable industry, Freeport, Illinois native Robert L. Johnson decided to launch his own cable television network. Johnson would soon acquire a loan for $15,000 and a $500,000 investment from media executive John Malone to start the network. The network, which was named Black Entertainment Television, launched on January 25, 1980. Initially broadcasting for two hours a week as a block of programming on Nickelodeon (it would not be until 1983 that BET became a full-fledged channel), the network's lineup consisted of music videos and reruns of popular black sitcoms.