LOS ANGELES • Cardi B topped the winners at this year's BET awards, receiving two awards: Best Female Hip-hop Artist and Album Of The Year for Invasion Of Privacy.

The awards, which celebrate the best in black American entertainment, paid tribute to rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was shot and killed in Los Angeles in March.

He was named Best Male Hip-hop Artist and also given a special humanitarian award to acknowledge the work he had done for social mobility in the city.

John Legend and DJ Khaled performed a musical tribute to Hussle and the red carpet at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles was turned blue to acknowledge the colour of the gang he grew up with.

Other winners included Beyonce and Bruno Mars, who won the pop/R&B categories, while rap trio Migos won Best Group. Their fellow Atlanta rapper, Lil Baby, won Best New Artist.

Michael B Jordan and Regina Kelly won the acting categories, while tennis superstar Serena Williams and National Basketball Association star Stephen Curry won the sports awards. Director Spike Lee's film, BlacKkKlansman, was named Best Movie.

British artists missed out in the two international categories, which were won by Nigerian pop star Burna Boy and rising South African dance artist Sho Madjozi - they beat British rappers Dave, Giggs, Headie One and Octavian.

But Ella Mai, the British R&B singer who achieved major American success last year, won the public-voted Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice award for her song, Trip.

Childish Gambino's This Is America won the best video category, while Karena Evans won Video Director of the Year after she broke through with four videos for Drake's chart-topping album, Scorpion.

Drake and Travis Scott were awarded Best Collaboration for Scott's track, Sicko Mode.

Appearing alongside live performances by Lil Nas X, Cardi B and more were the five men exonerated in the 1989 Central Park Five rape case, recently adapted for Netflix by director Ava DuVernay.

They received a standing ovation as they introduced R&B singer HER.

THE GUARDIAN