BMI paid tribute to the best in R&B and Hip-Hop last night at its 2024 R&B/Hip-Hop Awards held at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, CA. Babyface received the night’s highest honor as the BMI Icon and SZA was presented with the BMI Champion Award, marking the first time this award was given in the R&B/Hip-Hop ceremony’s 24-year history. SZA was also named BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter of the Year and was honored with Song of the Year for the massive hit, “Kill Bill” alongside her co-writers Rob Bisel and Carter Lang. BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Producer of the Year, Top Producers, Publisher of the Year and BMI’s Top 35 Most-Performed R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in the U.S. of the previous year were also announced. The private event was hosted by BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill and BMI Vice President, Creative, Atlanta, Catherine Brewton.
In addition to being named a BMI Icon, Babyface now has 64 BMI Awards and received BMI’s Song of the Year three times, BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year seven times and, together with his LaFace Records co-founder L.A. Reid, was named a BMI Icon in 2006. R&B and Hip-Hop royalty paid tribute to Babyface with performances of some of his most popular songs. Mac Royals opened with “My My My,” Tamar Braxton followed with a passionate version of “Superwoman,” and Mario closed the tribute performances with “I’ll Make Love to You” and “Can We Talk.” Superstar Lil Wayne paid tribute to his mentor and friend before O’Neill and Brewton presented the Icon Award to the five-time GRAMMY® Award-winning legend. O’Neill praised Babyface’s incomparable talent and impact on generations of music makers and for being with the BMI family for nearly five decades. In accepting the award Babyface thanked the crowd and said, “I only know that I got here because I love music, and it was the one pure thing that I knew that I could do, and I did it with all my heart. If you do it from the heart, that’s the main thing that keeps you going.” He then surprised the audience with an incredible performance of “Whip Appeal” that brought the room to their feet.
As the 2024 BMI Icon, Babyface joins an elite group of music creators, including Busta Rhymes, Janet Jackson, Lil Wayne, Patti LaBelle, Nile Rodgers, Snoop Dogg, The Jacksons, LA Reid, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, James Brown and others.
Earlier in the evening, the BMI Champion Award was presented to SZA for elevating the craft of songwriting and sharing her artistic gifts with the world. BMI’s EVP, Chief Revenue & Creative Officer Mike Steinberg praised the four-time GRAMMY® winner “for using her voice as a champion … and raising the bar in songwriting creativity and breaking boundaries at every turn.” He added, “her once in a lifetime sound has mesmerized audiences around the globe.” In a special tribute to SZA, Bren Joy gave an electrifying performance of “Broken Clocks,” and emerging pop and R&B singer MaKenzie gave a soul-stirring performance of the hit song “Nobody Gets Me.” Upon receiving the honor, SZA said, “I have to say songwriting awards mean the most to me because when I started and I needed people to come and write for me I didn’t have anybody.” She went on to say, “I’m grateful to be honored today because there’s so many songwriters in here that literally made me.”
Thank you so much @bmi for honoring me last night 🥹🫶🏾💕 and thank you to all the amazing writers that have ever inspired me pic.twitter.com/z4joBQMWmf
— SZA (@sza) September 6, 2024
In receiving this honor, SZA joins previous BMI Champion Award recipients who were honored for their commitment and efforts supporting future songwriters and music makers, including Khalid, Inflo, Mark Ronson, Residente, Sebastian Krys and Keith Urban.
In addition to the BMI Champion Award, SZA was also named BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter of the Year for co-writing, “Nobody Gets Me,” “Shirt,” “Snooze,” and received Song of the Year for “Kill Bill” alongside her co-writers Rob Bisel and Carter Lang. The smash hit became her first number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 and has over one billion streams on Spotify.
Over the course of the ceremony, BMI recognized the top producers and songwriters of the previous year’s 35 Most-Performed R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in the U.S, naming 56 first-time winners.
Hitmaker Tay Keith earned Producer of the Year for his work on hits such as “First Person Shooter” performed by Drake featuring J. Cole, “Meltdown” by Travis Scott featuring Drake, “SkeeYee” by Sexyy Red and “Circo Loco” by Drake and 21 Savage. This marks the third time Keith has been named Producer of the Year, and he was also named BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter of the Year in 2018. Additionally, Coleman, Dougie F, Metro Boomin, RIOTUSA and Jahaan Sweet were also named top producers during the ceremony.
Universal Music Publishing was named BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Publisher of the Year for representing 21 of the previous year’s most-performed songs including BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Song of the Year “Kill Bill,” “Barbie World,” “Paint the Town Red,” “Players,” “Superhero (Heroes & Villains),” and “Snooze,” to name a few.
