Atlanta’s hip hop community shined this weekend as guests and celebrities poured into the city for a weekend filled with parties and of course filming for the 2010 BET Hip Hop Awards. Although not airing until Tuesday, October 12 at  8:00 p.m. , the filming will take place yesterday, Saturday, at the Atlanta Civic Center.

Oscar winner Mo’Nique and artist Keri Hilson are confirmed presenters for the awards show, which is hosted by comedian Mike Epps for his second consecutive year. Nicki Minaj, Common, Martin Lawrence and  Missy Elliott are also some big names expected to make appearances throughout the show. Our favorite part, however, is always the performances. This year, we can’t wait to see artists Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame, Rick Ross and our personal favorite Swiss Beatz take the stage.

In honor of the 2010 BET Hip Hop awards, various hip hop heavies have been and will continue to host parties across Atlanta this weekend. There are too many to list, but you can usually tell which ones are worth it by the cars parked out front.

But if you are looking for one great party, then I would focus on scoring tickets to the official 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards after party tonight at Compound. Little has been released about the party, but you are pretty much guaranteed to rub shoulders with Ludacris, Kelly Rowland and Diddy.

For more information on the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards, please visit www.bet.com/specials/hiphopawards10/.

2010 Digital Exclusive Cypher