BET Awards: '04 Nominees

Unlike most other compilations based around award show nominations, BET Awards: '04 Nominees is actually quite handy for those who lacked the means or the desire to buy dozens of rap and R&B full-lengths throughout late 2003 and the first half of 2004. Held on June 29, the BET Awards for 2004 were also more up-to-date than, say, the Grammys -- and many of the nominees included here were still on the charts when the ceremony took place. OutKast's "The Way You Move," Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love," Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz' "Get Low," Kanye West's "Through the Wire," and R. Kelly's "Ignition [Remix]" are among the inclusions. Many of the tracks appear in their radio versions, meaning that all of the cussing has been extracted. As a nice touch, the compilation's producers included "Fight the Power," from Lifetime Achievement Award recipients the Isley Brothers, at the end of the disc. It goes without saying, but it spanks most everything that precedes it.