General Rules:

- All artists MUST have physical product to qualify for consideration. This product needs to be sent to our offices: The Ohio Hip Hop Awards,1266 West 6th suite 202 Cleveland, OH 44113 by July 1, 2008. All submissions have to have been commercially released between the "Qualifying Time Frame" of July 5, 2007 and July 1, 2008 for consideration.

- All Cd's must have professional quality printing (no square stickers, no sharpie/marker text) and industry standard sound.

- Nominations Begin on May 15th, 2008 and will last until July 1st,  2008.  At that time the nomination process will end and the nominations will be considered. The official ballot for the 2008 Ohio Hip Hop Awards Show will be online on August 1st, 2008.

- Submissions cannot be returned after they are received.

- All artists must be "active performers" in the Ohio music scene and be able to provide verification of such.

- This is the Ohio Hip Hop Awards - everyone must have a valid and current government issued ID from the great Buckeye state (copy must be sent with submission). Artists born in Ohio are eligible for an award even if they no longer live in the state. Artists not born in Ohio must be able to prove they have been legal residents of Ohio for more than 6 months prior to when the Qualifying Time Frame begins to be nominated for an award.

- All potential nominees should submit a press kit (cd, bio and pictures)for consideration. Bar-coded music is not a requirement (yet) but it greatly increases your chances of being nominated.

- A Submission does not constitute a nomination.

- Interns and Employees of the Ohio Hip Hop Awards are not eligible for nomination.

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Qualifying rules for specific categories:

-Model of the Year: Model of the year is for male or female models. A press kit must be submitted with several pictures and information detailing the candidate's work and experience during the past year. Models must be in some sort of combination of professional music videos, promotional materials, magazines, recognized web sites, television commercials, calendars, or runway events. Any borderline interpretations will be left up to the discretion of the OHHA board. These requirements must be met within the Qualifying Time Frame. Due to technical errors, the deadline for submission for this particular category has been extended to July 15, 2008.

- Best New Artist/Group: 1st project commercially released during Qualifying Time Frame; CD single, CD full length, vinyl single, vinyl full length, EP, or mixtape.

- Best Male/Female Artist: Must have a new full length commercially released during Qualifying Time Frame.

- Best Magazine: Must have a bare minimum 4 separate issues released during the Qualifying Time Frame. Issue must be submitted to the OHHA offices by July 1st 2008.

- Best Lyricist: Must have own product released during qualifying time frame, OR have been featured on a minimum of 5 other releases.

- Single of the Year: Must have been commercially released during the Qualifying Time Frame.

- Best Record Label: Must have at least one new full length released during Qualifying Time Frame; Must be a registered business in the state of Ohio (verification required); Must show proof of publishing ownership. All this must be submitted to the OHHA by July 1, 2008.

- Best Battle Rapper: NO MORE VOTING! Check the homepage for info on the OHHA Statewide MC Battle!

- Best Male/Female Vocalist: Must have a new full length commercially released during Qualifying Time Frame.

- Best Club DJ: Must have regular residency in a legal business entity, public venue during the Qualifying Time Frame.

- Best Mixtape DJ: Must have a minimum of 2 commercially released mixtapes during the Qualifying Time Frame.

- Best Mixtape Artist: Must have a new full length commercially released mixtape during Qualifying Time Frame.

- Best Mixtape: Must be commercially released during the Qualifying Time Frame.

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These cover most of the categories that caused a bit of confusion last year, hopefully this clears up any questions. Most of the other categories are pretty self explanatory. There are a few categories that we are still finalizing the qualifications for, so keep checking back regularly for those updates. As always, if there are any specific questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at info@ohiohiphopawards.com.