Jay-Z and Kanye West Big Winners at 2012 BET Awards

Jay-Z and Kanye West took home the coveted Video of the Year for their Spike Jonze-directed “Otis” clip last night (July 1) at the 2012 BET Awards. And Hov used the winning the honor as the perfect opportunity to rib Yeezy.

“Excuse me, Kanye, I’mma let you continue, but…” Jay interrupted ’Ye, while he was giving his acceptance speech, drawing huge laughs from the audience.

Of course, Jay was referencing Kanye’s infamous interruption of pop darling Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

When the laughter subsided, though, Kanye got serious enough to explain what the award means.

"Thank you, BET, for allowing us to push the envelope,” Kanye said. “The awards make sense sometimes if something is really, really good. We put in a lot of work, a lot of hours, a lot of sleepless nights.

"We don't take it lightly. It's like being a new artist every day,” he added. “Everybody knows we put in so many hours to bring you the best product possible. We don't take for granted the opportunity that y'all have given to us."

The Throne beat out Beyoncé's "Countdown" and "Love on Top" to win the honor. The Throne also won the best group award, as the show also seen riveting performances from Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music group, as they performed their summer hit, “Mercy.” Nicki Minaj’s set included performances of “Champion” and “Beez In The Trap.” Both sets included 2 Chainz.

Rick Ross’s MMG hit the stage, performing “Bag of Money,” “So Sophisticated” and “Black Magic” with Gunplay and French Montana joining Rozay, Wale and Meek Mill on stage.

Chris Brown performed for the first time since the bottle-throwing incident at NYC’s W.i.P. night club on June 13, but there was no sign of Drake.

Other winners of the 2012 BET Awards included Big Sean for Best New Artist and Wale featuring Miguel for Best Collaboration for their “Lotus Flower Bomb” cut.

Nicki Minaj took home the award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist.

“I really, really appreciate BET for keeping this category alive, and I appreciate all the females doing their thing, past, present and future,” Nicki said, while accepting the award.

Breezy also pocketed honors for the AOL Fandemonium Award and Best Male R&B Artist.

The show’s host Samuel L. Jackson and Spike Lee humorously spoofed The Throne’s, “Ni--as in Paris.”

Kanye West, with girlfriend Kim Kardashian, sat next to Jay-Z and Beyoncé.—Jakinder Singh