BET Networks To Honor Grammy Nominated Rapper, Entrepreneur And Community Leader Nipsey Hussle Posthumously With The Humanitarian Award At The 2019 "BET Awards"

NEW YORK, June 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today BET Networks announces Nipsey Hussle as the recipient of the 2019 "BET Awards" Humanitarian Award. In the spirit of uplift he evoked in his community, his work as a devoted son, brother, father, partner, friend and all-around community advocate and philanthropist, musician and businessman, Nipsey will be posthumously honored with the iconic award at the 19th annual Awards show airing live in his hometown of Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, June 23rd at 8 P.M. ET.

Nipsey continues to be a big part of the BET family from past BETX Staples Center concerts, performing on the BET Live Stage, to visiting the set of BET original series, BET Networks will continue to celebrate the life and work of the beloved LA native known lovingly as "Neighborhood Nip." BET Networks also commemorated and celebrated his life by broadcasting "BET REMEMBERS: NIPSEY HUSSLE", live and commercial-free coverage of Nipsey's funeral service in its entirety on BET and BET Digital.

Over the past few months, "Neighborhood Nip's," work as an entertainer was only a small piece of who he was, and that would have been superseded only by his remarkable and tenacious efforts to advance his community, empowering and employing underprivileged groups through real estate investments, science and tech learning centers for teens. Nipsey's work within his community reflects the artist outside of the world of music, and BET Networks is honored to acknowledge his work in front of his peers as well as the world of entertainment on one of its biggest nights in black entertainment and culture.

"As a prolific artist and leader, Nipsey Hussle was zealous about driving change for the betterment of his community, empowering and employing those in need and being an influential and highly respected leader. His passing was a tremendous loss to the entertainment industry and to the culture. We will continue to remember his advocacy and be inspired by the groundwork he set forth and his dire commitment to social change. We are forever grateful, humbled and honored to have experienced his presence and we are invested in doing our part to ensure that the marathon will indeed continue. It is an immense honor for us to recognize him with this year's Humanitarian Award," said Connie Orlando, Executive Vice-President, Head of Programming at BET.

Additionally, a star-studded tribute in Nipsey's honor featuring DJ Khaled, YG and John Legend will occur during the live show paying homage to the beloved artist and community philanthropist.

The "BET AWARDS" 2019 will simulcast LIVE at 8 pm ET across seven Viacom networks in the U.S. including BET, BET HER, MTV, MTV 2, MTV Classic, VH1, and Logo.  Internationally, the show will simulcast for the first-time on BET Africa at 2 am CAT on June 24^th, followed by international broadcasts in the UK on June 24^th at 9:00 pm BST, South Korea on June 25^th at 9 pm KST and in France on June 25^th at 9 pm CEST.  Internationally, BET will honor Best International Act in-show, along with the fan-voted category Best New International Act and BET International Global Good Award during the live red carpet pre-show.

Connie Orlando, Executive Vice-President, Head of Programming at BET will serve as Executive Producer for the "BET Awards" 2019 along with Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment.

BET.com/betawards is the official site for the "BET Awards" and will have all the latest news and updates about this year's show.

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ABOUT BET NETWORKS
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for black entertainment, music, culture and news; BET HER, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American woman; BET Music Networks - BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET's growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.

ABOUT "BET AWARDS"
The "BET Awards" is one of the most watched award shows on cable television according to the Nielsen Company. The "BET Awards" franchise remains as the #1 program in cable TV history among African-Americans, and it is BET's #1 telecast every year. It recognizes the triumphs and successes of artists, entertainers, and athletes in a variety of categories.

ABOUT JESSE COLLINS ENTERTAINMENT
Jesse Collins Entertainment (JCE) is a full-service television and film production company founded by entertainment industry veteran Jesse Collins. For more than a decade, Collins has played an integral role in producing some of television's most memorable moments in music entertainment. Collins has produced groundbreaking and award-winning television programming, including "BET Awards," "Grammy Awards," "Soul Train Music Awards," "BET Honors," "UNCF an Evening of Stars," "ABFF Awards" and "BET Hip Hop Awards." Collins was an executive producer of the hit TV series "Real Husbands of Hollywood," starring Kevin Hart, and the critically acclaimed "The New Edition Story," a biopic on the boy band that aired as a three-part miniseries on BET in January 2017. He is also the executive producer of VH1 shows "Dear Mama" and "Hip Hop Squares" with Ice Cube. Most recently, JCE executive-produced "The Bobby Brown Story." The miniseries picked up where "The New Edition Story" miniseries left off and chronicled the talented but troubled singer's exit from the popular 80s boy band through his solo success. It debuted on BET in September 2018 and was the highest-rated non-tentpole program on the network since "The New Edition Story." Next for JCE is the second season of "American Soul" on BET and Netflix's upcoming series "Rhythm and Flow."

SOURCE BET Networks