Jessica Mauboy, Dan Sultan and hip hop artist Briggs the big winners at National Indigenous Music Awards (ABC)

ABC Dan Sultan won three gongs at the NIMAs in Darwin.

Jessica Mauboy, Dan Sultan and the hip-hop artist Briggs have been named among the country's best Indigenous music artists at the National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs) in Darwin.

Melbourne favourite Sultan dominated, notably ousting Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, to win three awards for best album (Blackbird), song (The Same Man) and cover art to help Victoria win four of the seven major awards.

It was the second consecutive year Mauboy had been awarded National Artist of the Year, and it came after performances at this year's Eurovision Song Contest, the NRL grand final and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

She delivered an acceptance speech from Los Angeles, where she is recording a new album.

In a statement, she later said how honoured she was to win the award.

"Hopefully this will inspire the next generation of Indigenous musicians to follow their dreams," Mauboy said.

The hip-hop rapper and songwriter known as Briggs or the "Unofficial Mayor of Shepparton" was named best new talent.

The evening also saw lesser known artists win acclaim, including the Desert Sevenz Crew from Ampilatwatja, a small community in remote central Australia, 325 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs.

The outfit's winning music video, Fly Back Home, was produced with the help of Desert Pea Media.

Event coordinator Mark Smith said the awards aimed to reward bands at different levels of their careers.

"That's the beauty of the event. The awards are pitched at all levels," he said.

"From the schoolground to the Jessica Mauboys to the Gurrumuls."

Held in Darwin's botanical gardens under a cloudless dry season sky, the night saw performances from Tom E. Lewis, the Tjintu Desert Band, the Desert Divas, and Arnhem Land dancers Djuki Mala (Chooky Dancers).

Former Essendon AFL play and now record label boss Nathan Lovett-Murray hosted a hip hop showcase including Briggs, Jimblah, The Last Kinection and Triple J Unearthed winner Philly.

Lovett-Murray said Indigenous hip-hop was on the cusp of international recognition.

"I really believe it's going to take off overseas, that's always been my vision with Indigenous hip-hop when I first started the record label," he said.

"The more promotion we can get, it's just going to help make it bigger.

"There's so much Indigenous hip-hop talent out there."

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