The Canadian rapper, songwriter and record producer - Drake, leads the pack of nominees for the 2016 BET Awards with nine nominations. Behind Drake, are the 34 year old American singer Beyoncé and the Barbadian singer Rihanna - tied for second place with five nominations.

Forbes made it known that the "Sorry Not Sorry" singer - Bryson Tiller, the  American singer and actor - Chris Brown, and the American hip hop recording artist - Future, are up for four awards.

Entertainment Weekly reported that Rihanna and Beyoncé are both up for best female R&B/pop artist against the "Hello" hitmaker - Adele, the American singer-songwriter - Andra Day, and the American R&B singer - K. Michelle.

The BET Awards was established by the Black Entertainment Television network in 2001 - to give honor to entertainers, artists, and athletes with more than 20 categories. The winners are based on BET Awards' voting academy, composed of entertainment professionals, as well as the fans.

In 2016 BET Awards best actress category, discerned the nominations for Kerry Washington of the thriller TV series Scandal; Taraji P. Henson of the American drama series Empire; and Viola Davis on ABC's drama series - How To Get Away With Murder.

Stephen Hill, BET's President of Programming, said in a statement, "These nominees represent depth and diversity in achievement over the past year and we look forward to recognizing them next month. This show will be innovative and special; in addition to celebrating the best in entertainment, we'll also spend time throughout the show remembering Prince as only BET can. You can count on memorable performances and moments in honor of a true legend."

Like any media outlets, L.A. Times also reported that the 2016 BET Awards is slated to fire up on June 26 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and the event will be broadcast live on BET's international network.