LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 25, 2011) - ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) hosted its 24th Annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards on June 24, 2011 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. The star-studded event, which was attended by hundreds of songwriters, recording artists and music industry leaders, paid special tribute to Sean "Diddy" Combs and Mary Mary, and honored the songwriters and publishers of the most performed ASCAP songs on the 2010 R&B/Hip-Hop, Rap and Gospel charts.
The evening featured performances by R&B artist Miguel and rapper Pusha T, R&B singer/songwriter Andrea Martin and gospel music duo Mary Mary, and was attended by some of the top names in the music and entertainment industry, including Sean "Diddy" Combs, Dr. Dre, Drake, Matthew "Boi-1da" Samuels, Noah "40" Shebib, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, Foxy Brown, Lyor Cohen, DJ Clark Kent, DJ Frank E., Drumma Boy, James Fortune, Jimmy Iovine, MC Lyte, Ne-Yo, Neil Portnow, Stargate, The Legendary Traxster, Terence Vaughn, Nate Walka, American Idol'sNaima Adedapo, Jacob Lusk and Lisa Tucker, Diddy-Dirty Money's Kalenna Harper and Dawn Richard, Jessica Jarrell, LeToya Luckett and The Pussycat Dolls' Melody Thornton, among others.
Top awards were handed out to:
- Songwriters of the Year (tie): Ludacris, Matthew "Boi-1da" Samuels and Noah "40" Shebib
- Publisher of the Year: EMI Music Publishing
- Top R&B/Hip-Hop Song: "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" written by Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, Alicia Keys and Noah "40" Shebib
- Top Rap Song: "Nothin' On You" written by Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine and Bruno Mars
- Top Gospel Song: "They That Wait" written by Ericka R. Warren
One of the evening's highlights was a special tribute to Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was honored with ASCAP's Founders Award in recognition of "his achievements as a producer, artist, entrepreneur, actor and icon whose creative genius continues to shape the course of music." To celebrate the legendary music mogul, Clark Kent performed a DJ set chronicling his career, and surprise guest Dr. Dre shared some personal remarks and co-presented the award with ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams.
The ASCAP Founders Award is among the most prestigious honors that ASCAP gives to songwriters and composers who have made pioneering contributions to music by inspiring and influencing their fellow music creators. Each recipient is a musical innovator who possesses a unique style of creative genius that will enrich generations to come. Past recipients include Garth Brooks, Dr. Dre, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Smokey Robinson, Paul McCartney, Ashford & Simpson, Rod Stewart and Berry Gordy Jr. & Motown Industries to name a few.
Siblings Erica Campbell and Tina Campbell, who together form the multiple Grammy Award-winning gospel music duo Mary Mary, were presented with ASCAP's Golden Note Award, which is given to songwriters, composers and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones. Past recipients include Sean "Diddy" Combs, Jermaine Dupri, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Quincy Jones, LL Cool J, New Edition and Lionel Richie.
The Songwriter of the Year award resulted in a three-way tie between Ludacris, Matthew "Boi-1da" Samuels and Noah "40" Shebib who each penned four of the most performed songs of the past year.
Multi-talented rapper and actor Ludacris was honored for "How Low" (by Ludacris), "My Chick Bad" (by Ludacris featuring Nicki Minaj), "Ride" (by Ciara featuring Ludacris) and "Sex Room" (by Ludacris featuring Trey Songz).
Canadian producers Matthew "Boi-1da" Samuels and Noah "40" Shebib were honored for three songs they co-wrote with rapper Drake: "Fancy" (by Drake featuring T.I. and Swizz Beatz), "Miss Me" (by Drake featuring Lil Wayne) and "Over" (by Drake). Boi-1da was also honored for Drake's "Forever" (featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem) and 40 was honored for Alicia Keys' "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)." Drake made a surprise appearance and presented his longtime collaborators with their first-ever Songwriter of the Year awards.
ASCAP Publisher of the Year honors went to EMI Music Publishing who was honored for 21 award-winning songs. This is the 17th consecutive win for EMI and the 19th time in the 24-year history of the awards show that they have received this honor. ASCAP CEO John A. LoFrumento and ASCAP Vice President of Membership, Rhythm & Soul Nicole George presented the award to EMI's President of North American Creative Jon Platt and his creative team.
Top Song Awards went to Alicia Keys' "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" written by Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, Alicia Keys and Noah "40" Shebib, which was named Top R&B/Hip-Hop Song, "Nothin' On You" by B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars, which earned writers Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine and Bruno Mars the Top Rap Song award, and Fred Hammond's "They That Wait" featuring John P. Kee, written by Ericka R. Warren, which was named Top Gospel Song.
The complete list of winners is available at www.ascap.com
For TV broadcast b-roll of tonight's event, please go to http://www.epklink.com/ascap/
About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization (PRO) representing the world's largest repertory totaling over 8.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 410,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. ASCAP has representation arrangements with similar foreign organizations so that the ASCAP repertory is represented in nearly every country around the world where copyright law exists. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. ASCAP is the only American PRO owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com
