The early winners the 2018 NAACP Awards were announced during a gala dinner celebration at the Pasadena Conference Center in Pasadena, Calif., on Sunday (Jan. 14). Power star Naturi Naughton received a trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
50 Cent, who is the show's creator and executive producer, went on his Instagram account to praise Naughton who plays Tasha St. Patrick, the wife James St. Patrick (Omar Hardwick), on the series.
"POWER fans your girl Tasha won NAACP," he wrote. "I’m so happy for @naturi4real she works hard this is only the beginning."
Other winners in the television category include Insecure's Jay Ellis (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series), black-ish's Marsai Martin (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series), Scandal's Joe Morton (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series), BET's The New Edition Story (Outstanding Television Movie), Queen Latifah (Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie) and more.
In the Music category, Bruno Mars nabbed three trophies, including Outstanding Best Male Artist, while Mary J. Blige won Outstanding Female Artist. Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar won three awards including, Outstanding Album and Best Song for Damn and "Humble," respectively. K.Dot's TDE labelmate SZA received the Outstanding new artist trophy as well.
Peep the early NAACP Awards winners' list at Deadline.com.
The 49th annual NAACP Awards, with host Anthony Anderson, will air tonight (Jan. 15) at 8 p.m. ET on TV One.