BET Hip Hop Awards Down From 2011

There was no brawl bounce last night for the BET Hip Hop Awards. Despite the attention a backstage shoving match between rappers Rick Ross and Young Jeezy received last month during the taping of the annual BET show, the 2012 edition was down 1 million viewers from last year’s all-time high. Tuesday’s show pulled in 3.1 million total viewers and a 2.3 rating, compared with 4.1 million viewers a year ago. The seventh annual awards show was taped September 29 and hosted for a third time by actor-comedian Mike Epps. BET premiered its new reality series Keyshia & Daniel: Family First after the Hip Hop Awards, pulling in 2.9 million total viewers and a 2.2 rating. That’s down from the 3.3 million who watched the premiere of Reed Between The Lines after last year’s awards show.