New York, NY (Top40 Charts / ASCAP) R&B and hip-hop's biggest stars gathered tonight at The Beverly
Wilshire in Los Angeles for ASCAP's signature urban music event, the 31st annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul
Music Awards. The A-list crowd joined the organization in recognizing the songwriters and publishers of the most performed ASCAP songs of 2017 as well as two special ASCAP honorees: iconic R&B group XSCAPE, who received the ASCAP Golden Note Award, and chart-topping rappers Migos, who accepted the ASCAP Vanguard Award.
Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee
Jermaine Dupri gave touching remarks about XSCAPE's early career and presented the ASCAP Golden Note Award to the four original members of the group, LaTocha and Tamika Scott,
Kandi Burruss, and Tameka "Tiny" Harris. The ASCAP Golden Note Award recognizes iconic songwriters, composers and artists who have reached extraordinary career milestones. Previous recipients include: Usher, Lauryn Hill, Ne-Yo, Mary Mary, A Tribe Called Quest, Alicia Keys, New Edition, Lionel Richie, Jermaine Dupri, LL Cool J, Sean "
Diddy" Combs,
Jay-Z and many more.
Offset,
Quavo &
Takeoff — the rap trio known as
Migos — were on hand to receive the ASCAP Vanguard Award for expanding hip-hop's sonic palette with their boundary-breaking creativity. The Vanguard Award is presented in recognition of the impact of new and developing musical genres, which help shape the future of music. Previous recipients include Kendrick Lamar, Beastie Boys, Taio Cruz, Diplo, Janelle Monáe, Santigold, Dua Lipa, St. Vincent, The Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Beck and Bjork.
The ASCAP members behind the biggest chart-topping hits of the past year were also recognized. ASCAP Rhythm & Soul
Music Songwriter of the Year was a tie between
Gucci Mane ("Black Beatles,"
Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane; "Both,"
Gucci Mane ft. Drake, more) and
Quavo ("Bad and Boujee,"
Migos ft. Lil Uzi Vert; "Good Drank,"
2 Chainz x
Gucci Mane x Quavo, more). Publisher of the Year went to Warner/Chappell Music.
The Top R&B/Hip-Hop Song was "
That's What I Like" written by ASCAP members
Christopher "Brody" Brown,
James Fauntleroy and Jeremy "Jerm Beats" Reeves and Ray "Ra Charm" McCullough of The Stereotypes; Top Rap Song went to "HUMBLE." written by
Kendrick Lamar and Mike WiLL Made-IT; and Top Gospel Song was awarded to "You Deserve It," written by
Cortez Vaughn and JJ Hairston. The latter was a songwriter guest presenter along with Dupri and BJ the
Chicago Kid.
The crowd of music industry insiders was treated to live music from ASCAP songwriters including the Top Gospel Song "You Deserve It" from winner JJ Hairston. Rapper YBN Nahmir performed a medley of "Rubbin Off the Paint" and "Bounce Out With That." ASCAP Golden Note Award winners XSCAPE closed out the night with a surprise performance of their greatest hits, including "Who Can I Run To," "
Understanding" and "Just Kickin' It."
The A-list audience of celebrities included 2 Chainz, Timbaland, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, PartyNextDoor, Jeremih, Brittany "Starrah" Hazzard, Meek Mill, Mark "Sounwave" Spears, Yo Gotti,
Priscilla Renea, Dej Loaf, Erica Campbell, Supa Dups, Bryan Popin,
Amber "Sevyn" Streeter, Christian "Hitmaka" Ward and
Kevin Gates, among others.
The 2018 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul
Music Awards are sponsored in part by Ciroc, Logitech and Sound Royalties.
For a full list of ASCAP 2018 Rhythm & Soul
Music Awards winners, please go to www.ascap.com/rsawards18. See #ASCAPURBAN for social media coverage.
About ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP's mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world's best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business - from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With more than 670,000 members representing more than 11.5 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. Learn more and stay in touch at www.ascap.com, on Twitter and Instagram @ASCAP and on Facebook.
