The 2008 BET Awards kicked off with a pre-ceremony soiree earlier this week in downtown Los Angeles. News & Notes was there — camera in tow. Watch as Niecy Nash explains why she always rocks a flower in her hair ... Jill Scott schools us in the ways of traditional African greetings ... Malcolm-Jamal Warner tells us what he's been up to ... and Robert Townsend leaves us hangin'.

We've also got chats with Terry Crews and his wife, Rebecca; Bobby Jones, CNN's Jamal Simmons, Jimmy Jean-Louis of NBC's Heroes, singer Janelle Monae, Rodney and Holly Robinson Peete, Soulja Boy, Ashanti, David Banner, and Nelly.

On the Show: Live from BET's Red Carpet