Beyoncé and Jay-Z
Beyoncé and Jay-ZReuters

Currently in its 16th edition, the annual BET Awards will take place this year at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on June 26. The ceremony will honour achievements by African-Americans in the field of music, cinema, television and sports. It will be hosted by actor Anthony Anderson and television personality Tracee Ellis Ross.

The nominees list for the awards is quite star-studded. Canadian rapper Drake has achieved 9 nominations. He is closely followed by Beyonce and Rihanna with six nominations each. Among the other nominees in the various music categories are Big Sean, Future, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and Kendrick Lamar. Categories, such as Video of the Year, Best Male RnB/Pop Artist, Best Female RnB/Pop Artist, Best Male Hip Hop Artist and Best Female Hip Hop Artist, will see some tough competition. Legendary pop group Jackson 5 will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Kanye West will be honoured with the Ultimate Icon Award and Jesse Williams will get the Humanitarian Award. (Check out the full list of nominees here.)

Young Thug, West, Rihanna, Usher, French Montana, Maxwell, Future, Chris Brown and Alicia Keys are the key performers to watch out for at the ceremony.

A special performance by Stevie Wonder, The Roots, D'Angelo, Sheila E and Janelle Monae is also on the cards. The musicians will pay tribute to rock icon Prince.

This year's ceremony will be available for live streaming on the BET website starting from 8 pm (EDT) this Sunday. Before the ceremony, the red carpet event will also be available for streaming before the ceremony on the same day at 5:30 pm EDT on the website.