Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and SZA are set to receive special honors at the 2024 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, which will take place on Thursday, September 5 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. This will mark the first time the private event will be held in Los Angeles in nearly 10 years.
Babyface will receive the BMI Icon Award, while SZA will receive the BMI Champion Award in recognition of her efforts in promoting the next generation of music creators. The event will be hosted by BMI President & CEO Mike O'Neill and vp, creative, Atlanta, Catherine Brewton.
“We are thrilled to honor the legendary Babyface with the BMI Icon Award to celebrate his incredible talent and prolific songwriting gift that has influenced decades of hits across all genres,” Brewton said in a statement. “We'll also recognize SZA's extraordinary industry-changing, convention-challenging career with a unique vibe that continues to transform and inspire a new sense of R&B that we've come to love.”
Throughout the evening, BMI will also salute the songwriters, producers and music publishers of the 35 most-streamed R&B/hip-hop songs of the past year from the BMI repertoire. The BMI R&B/hip-hop song, songwriter, producer and publisher of the year will also be named during the ceremony, along with top producers.
Babyface has won 12 Grammy Awards, including a record four for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. He secured his most recent Grammy — best R&B song for SZA's “Snooze” — earlier this year. In addition, in 2021, he received a trustees award from the Recording Academy.
Babyface has received 63 BMI Awards, including Song of the Year three times and BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year seven times. Along with co-founder LA Reid of LaFace Records, he was named a BMI Icon in 2006. Additionally, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017. He has also been honored by The Apollo Walk of Fame, where he received the inaugural Legacy Award.
Previous BMI Icon honorees include James Brown, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, Janet Jackson, Patti LaBelle, LA Reid, Nile Rodgers, Snoop Dogg, The Jacksons, Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne.
SZA received nine 2024 Grammy nominations for the ceremony held earlier this year, more than any other artist. It went on to win three awards – Best Progressive R&B album, Best R&B Song for “Snooze” and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Ghost in the Machine,” with Phoebe Bridgers.
During her career, SZA has received four Grammy Awards, as well as Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for writing “All the Stars” by Black panther. He has won 10 BMI Awards, one American Music Award, six Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and six BET Awards.
She received Billboard's Women in Music Rule Breaker Award in 2019. Four years later, she was crowned Woman of the Year at the same event. In 2024, he received the Hal David Starlight Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Previous recipients of the BMI Champion Award include Inflo, Khalid, Mark Ronson, Residente, Sebastian Krys, Keith Urban and Lee Thomas Miller.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/babyface-sza-honors-2024-bmi-rb-hip-hop-awards-1235743239/
