BET to Search for America's Best Undiscovered Rapper in New Series ONE SHOT

Now, what you hear is not a test! BET Networks is on a nationwide search to find America's next big rap star. BET announced today the series premiere of its high-octane hip hop lyrical competition series ONE SHOT. The talent competition will scour the nation to find the next explosive rap star with mass appeal, on-the-fly musicianship and command of the stage.

Hosted by iconic hip hop and radio personality Sway Calloway, the six one-hour episode series will premiere Tuesday, August 23 at 10 PM ET/PT on BET. Each episode travels to a different city: Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami and Chicago where contestants will face off to secure his or her spot at the grand finale in New York City. The show's judges feature an elite roster of industry experts including Mike Smith, Kxng Crooked and King Tech. They will be joined each week by different celebrity guest judges including T.I., RZA, DJ Khaled, Twista, Tech N9ne and DJ Drama and together will critique and offer guidance to the hip hop hopefuls and handpick the best of the crop. While thousands of talented men and women applied, only the nation's hottest emcees were selected to compete for a cash prize of $100,000, a record deal with SMH Entertainment and bragging rights to be named America's hottest emcee.

All is at stake for the contestants. ONE SHOT will give viewers a bird's eye view of what it takes to be the greatest in the game and reveal the sacrifices many hip hop stars must make to accomplish their goals and dreams. In the end, only one will drop the mic and win the coveted title of America's number one rap star.

ONE SHOT is executive produced by Sway Calloway, Mike Smith, Dominick Wickliffe p/k/a "Kxng Crooked", Rod Sepand p/k/a "King Tech", Nancy Nayor and Dean Hadaegh. Zach Hermann and Erika Smith serve as Co-Executive Producers. Julie Insogna Jarrett and Seth Jarrett will also serve as Executive Producers for Production Company, Jarrett Creative. Kenny Hull serves as Executive Producer and series show runner. The show concept was created by Kxng Crooked.

For more information on ONE SHOT go to BET.com. Join the conversation on social media by using hashtag: #OneShotBET and following us @BET.

About BET Networks BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (VIA, VIAB), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; Centric, the first network dedicated to Black women; BET Digital Networks - BET Soul, BET Jams and BETGospel , attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and Production Company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

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