Sway won best UK act at the awards in Atlanta

The star, who had been nominated for eight awards, took best CD and hip-hop video for What You Know.

"You can't hate on hard work and talent," he said.

Grandmaster Flash was recognised for his contribution to the genre with the I am hip-hop icon award. P Diddy, Jay-Z and Sway were among other winners.

Listener vote

"To get an award for my technological ability means a whole lot more than anything else I've accomplished in my life," said Grandmaster Flash on accepting his award.

Sway, who was nominated for this year's Mercury Music Prize, was voted best UK act by MTV Base viewers and BBC 1Xtra listeners in the UK.

Rappers Ludacris, Jermaine Dupri and Young Jeezy started the show with a performance of their 2001 hit Welcome to Atlanta.

Dupri, who won best producer, said: "For the awards to be in my city and I win something for producing, it's exciting.

"The outcome was something I could never imagine.

BET was launched in 1980 as an urban equivalent to its sister-station MTV and is broadcast across the US, Canada and the Caribbean.