Broadcast Music, Inc.®, (BMI®), the global leader in music rights management, presented the BMI President’s Award to Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges at the 2014 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, held at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles on August 22. The star-studded event celebrates the songwriters, producers and publishers of the most-performed R&B/hip-hop songs of the previous year.
Ludacris was honored for his outstanding achievement in songwriting and his profound global influence on culture and the entertainment industry. As the 2014 President’s Award recipient, Ludacris joins an elite list of previous honorees that includes will.i.am, Adam Levine, Carlos Vives, Taylor Swift and Pitbull.
The night’s top honoree got the crowd moving with a medley of his greatest hits including “Fantasy,” “How Low Can You Go,” “Southern Hospitality,” “Area Codes,” and “Yeah,” joined by special guest Mystikal.
The evening also featured a slew of performances: rapper TeeFlii and DJ Goofy delivered “24 Hours”; Tamar Braxton offered “Love and War”; and a special set by DJ Mustard and YG.
Additional top honors were presented at the awards ceremony: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Can’t Hold Us” earned the Song of the Year prize; Lil Wayne was crowned the Songwriter of the Year for penning hits “Ball,” “Bandz A Make Her Dance,” “Beware,” “Love Me,” “No Worries,” and “Pop That.” DJ Mustard won the coveted Producer of the Year award and Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. accepted the prestigious Publisher of the Year crystal for having 14 of the most-performed songs from the previous year.
BMI also recognized top producers Mike Dean, Noel “Detail” Fisher, Jerome “J-Roc” Harmon, Ryan Lewis and Kanye West.
Zendaya won the BMI Social Star Award. Selected by fans voting via Twitter, the award salutes the BMI R&B/hip-hop songwriter who has best demonstrated the power of social media to showcase their songwriting talents.
During the ceremony, BMI also recognized the songwriters of Billboard No. 1 singles on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts over the past year.
BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill and Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Atlanta, Catherine Brewton shared the evening’s hosting duties with Revolt TV Vice President, Marketing Kenny Burns.
BMI partnered with City National Bank, Revolt TV, and Red Bull to present the 2014 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards.
For a complete list of 2014 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop winners, please visit: http://bmi.com/hiphopwinners2014.
Hit the flip for more photos from the evening.
