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2007: The Year in Hip-Hop and R&B

Who Raked in the cake, and who threw an airball? VIBE.com's Natalie Guevara breaks it all down on the VH-1 Soul/VIBE Awards Winners and Losers.

All ablaze with synthy '80s influences, tub-thumping beats, hand-clapped hooks, and one good girl gone bad, 2007 was another memorable year for hip hop and R&B – truly one for the books. While 2006 gave us Ghostface Killah's lyrical onslaught, T.I.'s rapid-fire, winner-takes-all delivery, torch ballads about dudes in love with strippers, and yet another blockbuster release from Beyoncé, it wasn't until last January that many artists set aside their well-established personas to show us some other tricks up their sleeves. From T-Pain's incessant bids to get us tipsy to R. Kelly's demented genius, we at VIBE appreciates their efforts and handed out VH1 Soul /VIBE awards as we saw fit. The crop of winners is a well-deserving bunch, although in some categories, you just have to wonder…

HIP HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR

2007 will forever be known as a triumphant year for Lil Wayne, currently hip hop's favorite face and winner of the Hip Hop Artist of the Year award. Weezy beat out colossal titans such as Diddy, Jay-Z, and last year's undisputed champion, T.I., to collect his prize. Not bad for a young upstart – bet Diddy's already scrambling to work him into an upcoming Bad Boy joint.

BEST COLLABO

Fabolous and Ne-Yo win the Best Collabo award for "Make Me Better," trumping, among others, R. Kelly and Usher (who were nominated for their work on "Same Girl"). No wonder – that "Oh, you're dating the same person as I am?" scenario is so '98. Leave the double-timing to Brandy and Monica, fellas.

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

Funny that the producer of Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous Girl" is quite a promiscuous dude himself – in the studio, at least. From Furtado to J. Timberlake to the Hives and even '80s New Wavers Duran Duran (seriously), is there anyone Timbaland hasn't glossed over with his Midas touch lately? Arch-nemesis (and fellow Producer of the Year nominee) Scott Storch can pen as many Timbo dises as he wants, but he'll always be known as that guy who tried to make Paris Hilton a hip-hop princess. Ouch.

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR

If you would've told us that squeaky-clean TV star Alan Thicke's son would grow up to become a silky-smooth R&B crooner and winner of the Breakthrough Artist of the Year award, beating out such notables as Amy Winehouse and her beehive, we would've said you were loonier than the troubled Brit diva herself – but that's exactly what happened, and we couldn't be happier. It's a pleasant surprise when old-fashioned sexy wins over straight-up crazy, you know?

R&B ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Next to cockroaches and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles is the most indestructible creature on Earth. Her reign as World's Greatest Diva continues with a win for R&B Artist of the Year, beating out such luminaries as the prolific Ne-Yo, contempo-soul mastermind R. Kelly, and Southern gentleman T-Pain.

SONG OF THE YEAR

T-Pain may be overly generous with his drink ticket – his collabo with Yung Joc, "Buy U A Drank," won for Song of the Year – but to be fair, drunk times always win out over boring-old-monogamy times (Robin Thicke's "Lost Without U), getting-your-junk-packed-up-in-boxes-after-a-nasty-breakup times (Beyonce's "Irreplaceable") and, above all, fun-with-Mary Jane times (Jim Jones's "We Fly High"). Hey, wait a sec…

VH1 SOUL VIDEO OF THE YEAR

If on a rainy day you find yourself stranded without proper equipment and a random stranger offers you a place under their umbrella, you can thank Rihanna. Her banger was everywhere this year, from the clubs to the local weather forecast, and we're not sick of it yet – drunk people make the "ella ella" sing-along too much fun. The video is equally enticing, complete with the Barbados cutie dipped in what looks like liquid silver. Hot! But let us not forget Beyoncé's frantic video for "Get Me Bodied," with its high drama (red lipstick!) and riffs on high society (vintage Rolls!). Though sweet, Mary J. and Luda's video-with-a-message for "Runaway Love" never stood a chance against these two scorchers.

MIXTAPE OF THE YEAR

Kanye West, the self-proclaimed "Louis Vuitton don" known the world over for his pop culture-laced verses and yuppie-with-a-twist style, kicked things up a notch on his latest, Graduation, a hip-hop opus about living large, 'Ye-style, and finally getting his due. With just the right amount of wit and cockiness – and the flashy Takashi Murakami imagery to match – Kanye receives VIBE's props for his mixtape, "Can't Tell Me Nothing," an intoxicating blend of album samples, guest-star remixes, and even a hipster mash-up (Yeezy takes on Swede rockers Peter Bjorn and John!). The tape beat out blazing offerings by DJ Drama, DJ Soul, and hip hop prince Lil Wayne, so it's the good life for Kanye, indeed.

VHOLLYWOOD

At almost 40, Will Smith may no longer be fresh, but he is still one of the top-grossing movie stars in this day and age. From Independence Day to The Pursuit of Happyness, we've been with Big Willie all the way and respect the man for having enough swagger to play with Hollywood big dogs such as Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts. Don't think fellow VHollywood award nominee T.I. won't be knocking his hustle in the coming years, however – boyfriend's 10 minutes in American Gangster had us swooning.

VIBE PROPS

You know you're pretty powerful when you win the VIBE Props award over a leading presidential candidate (Barack Obama), the host of the highest-rated talk show in TV history (Oprah Winfrey), and a two-time NBA All-Star (Stephon Marbury) – but Hova's the kind of guy who takes it all in stride.

RINGTONE OF THE YEAR

Ringtones can either make or break a moment. Who wants to be in a class, at a meeting, or – God forbid – at a funeral, only to have your cell go off – loudly – to the tune of Sisqo's "Thong Song"? With a nominee pool that included such attention-getting ditties as Lil' Mama's "Lip Gloss" and Mims's "This Is Why I'm Hot," voters were navigating potentially treacherous waters. In the end, Shop Boyz's jubilant anthem "Party Like a Rockstar" proved triumphant, and with good reason – aren't rock stars always loud and kind of obnoxious anyway?

VSTYLE

It's only natural that Beyoncé would take home the Vstyle award. Do you know anyone else who can rock a stage outfitted in C-3P0 leggings? Fellow nominees Kimora Lee and Kanye West also deserve props for their fashion savvy: Miss Kimora always keeps it real (albeit with a hefty $10,000 price tag) on her reality show, Life in the Fab Lane, while Kanye can work cutting-edge threads like no other (shutter shades were the illest accessory of the year). Diddy should consider ditching the creepy serial-killer stance he assumed in the recent ads for his latest fragrance, "Unforgivable Woman" – it clashes big-time with his classic, streamlined style.