T.I

T.I

T.I. was the toast of the BET Awards on Saturday night - accepting two honours from his jail cell.

The rapper is currently serving a 366-day sentence at an Arkansas penitentiary following his conviction on weapons charges. He recently saw his debut CD, Paper Trail, shoot up the charts and now the record has earned him a BET Award for Album of the Year.

The ceremony at the Atlanta Civic Center in Georgia also saw the shamed star honored with the Best Collaboration award for his track Live Your Life, with Rihanna. T.I.'s fiance Tameka 'Tiny' Cottle picked up the prizes on his behalf and read a letter which the star penned from his prison cell.

The rapper wrote, "Although I'm not there with you all, I'm there in spirit. My road to redemption is almost over... thanks for the support." Kanye West was another notable absence - he failed to show up at the ceremony, despite being nominated for nine awards.

Other prizes throughout the night went to rap superstar Jay-Z, who was handed the MVP of the Year award, Ice Cube who received the I Am Hip-Hop Icon honor, and Drake, who was named Rookie of the Year.

Tragic Adam 'DJ AM' Goldstein, who died in August, was posthumously honored at the show as he was named DJ of the Year. The BET awards will air on U.S. TV on 27 October.

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