Photo credit: Lester Cohen Getty Images For ASCAP
The 29th annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards returned to The Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles during BET Awards weekend. This year the recipient of the prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award was A Tribe Called Quest. The ASCAP Golden Note Award is among the most prestigious honors that ASCAP gives to songwriters, composers and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones. The award was presented by Outkast’s Andre 3000 and ASCAP President Paul Williams.
ASCAP also recognized the songwriters and publishers of the most performed ASCAP songs on the 2015 R&B, Hip-Hop, and Gospel charts. The Golden Note Award presentation to Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White of A Tribe Called Quest also paid special tribute to band member Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor, who recently passed away. The group was recognized with a surprise performance by Busta Rhymes. Past Golden Note Award recipients include: Lauryn Hill, Pharrell Williams, Dr. Dre, Alicia Keys, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jeff Lynne, Reba McEntire, LL Cool J, Jermaine Dupri, Jay Z, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Quincy Jones, Elton John, Tom Petty and many more.
Other top winners of the night included Publisher of the Year for Warner/Chappell Music; Top R&B/Hip-Hop Song for “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)” by Jason “Deheala” Quenneville, Ahmad “Belly” Balshe and The Weeknd; Top Rap Song for “Trap Queen” by Anton “Tony Fadd” Matsulevich and Fetty Wap; and Top Gospel Song for “Worth Fighting For” by Brian Courtney Wilson. Songwriter of the Year went to Jeremih, for his work on the winning songs “Hold You Down,” “Planes,” “The Body” and “Throw Sum Mo.” The evening’s presenters included Ne-Yo, Tank, Kid Ink and Erica Campbell.
Music executives, creators, publishers, and media were treated to live performances by winning ASCAP songwriters Wale, Anthony Brown & therAPy, Bibi Bourelly, and French Montana and Remy Ma. Wale performed “My PYT”, Anthony & therAPy performed “Worth”, and Bourelly performed “Riot”.
The star studded event also housed an A-list audience that included Common, 50 Cent, Tyrese, Bridget Kelly, Kandi Burruss, Kirko Bangz, Stacy Barthe, MC Lyte, Eric Bellinger and Melanie Fiona. The 2016 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards were presented by REVOLT and sponsored by Seagram’s Gin.