Lil Wayne was named lyricist of the year and Russell Simmons was honored as a hip-hop icon at this year's BET Hip-Hop Awards taped on Saturday in Atlanta.
The New Orleans rapper, who was nominated for 12 awards, was also named MVP of the Year and the Alltel Wireless People's Champ at the ceremony, which was hosted by T-Pain instead of scheduled host, comedian Katt Williams.
The show featured a hip-hop matriarch medley that included MC Lyte, Yo-Yo and Salt-n-Pepa. DJ Khaled, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Lil Wayne, Fat Joe, Birdman and Rick Ross took home the award for Best Hip-Hop Collaboration for "I'm So Hood (The Remix)."