Pictured after an Atlantic Records showcase are artist/songwriter Trey Songz, BMI's Wardell Malloy and producer Troy Taylor

A talented R&B artist and accomplished songwriter, Trey Songz got his start in Petersburg, VA at age 15, when he met his producer and mentor, Troy Taylor. Impressed by an a cappella version of "All The Things I Do," a song Trey himself had written, Taylor urged Trey to get serious. To date, Trey has written and co-produced for labelmate Kevin Lyttle's self-titled debut, sings solo on "About The Game" from Coach Carter: Music From The Motion Picture, and is featured on "Ain't A Thug," on Trick Daddy's latest album, Thug Matrimony. Trey co-wrote and guests on the tracks "I Know" and "Line of Fire" from Juvenile's upcoming album, and will collaborate with Lil Kim, Trina, and Snoop Dogg on their forthcoming projects.

Taylor was born and bred in suburban New Haven, Connecticut, into a family of talented musicians, resulting in his exposure to music at a very early age. He started by singing in local talent shows and then moved on to playing keyboards and learning how to listen and understand music. Taylor's ear for music and his natural ability to gain people's attention enabled him to make great strides in his career. As an entrepreneur, Taylor formed his own production company, Songbook Entertainment, several years ago. With a discography full of platinum hits, he has worked with such artists as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, B2K, Ginuwine, Patti Labelle, Omarion, Kevin Lyttle, Glenn Lewis, The Mighty O-Jay's, Take 6, SWV, 702, Brownstone, Johnny Gill, and Stevie Wonder to name a few.

Evanescence

The White Stripes

Rock band Evanescence also topped this year's list, picking up five nominations including Best New Artist and Best Rock Album for their multi-platinum breakthrough release, Fallen. Other five-time nominees were rapper Eminem and the late Warren Zevon. Also receiving multiple nods were Willie Nelson, Jack White of The White Stripes (three with his band and one individual), and classical composer Jose Serebrier with four each and Christina Aguilera with three, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her smash hit, "Beautiful."

Willie Nelson

Eminem

Warren Zevon

The 46th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 8, 2004, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast on CBS from 8-11:30 p.m. on the East and West Coasts.

BMI's Grammy Nominees

SIX NOMINATIONS
Pharrell Williams

FIVE NOMINATIONS
Eminem
Evanescence
Chad Hugo
Warren Zevon

FOUR NOMINATIONS
Willie Nelson
José Serebrier
The White Stripes

THREE NOMINATIONS
Christina Aguilera
Jeff Bass
Michael Brecker
Chick Corea
Anthony Hamilton
Alison Krauss
Lil' Kim
Shania Twain

TWO NOMINATIONS
Audioslave
Black Eyed Peas
Jorge Calderón
Ry Cooder
Foo Fighters
Fountains of Wayne
Aretha Franklin
Rich Harrison
Heather Headley
Bishop T.D. Jakes
Toby Keith
R. Kelly
k.d. lang (SOCAN)
The Matrix
Martina McBride
Aaron Neville
Nickelback (SOCAN)
Pink
Neal Pogue
Earl Scruggs
Wayne Shorter
Snoop Dogg
Sting (PRS)
Union Station
Doc Watson
will.i.am
John Williams
Lucinda Williams

ONE NOMINATION
Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Akwid
Allman Brothers Band
Audio Adrenaline
Marcia Ball
Luther Barnes & the Sunset Jubilaires
Buju Banton (PRS)
Mark Batson
Steve Berkowitz
Eddie Blazonczyk's Versatones
Carla Bley Big Band
Blind Boys of Alabama
Blue Highway
Michelle Branch
Randy Brecker
Brooks & Dunn
David Bowie (PRS)
Joe Budden
Jimmy Buffett
Martin Buttrich (GEMA)
Café Tacuba
Michel Camilo
Cam'Ron
Caribbean Jazz Project
Rosanne Cash
Stanley Clarke
Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater
The Crabb Family
The Crusaders
Sam Cooke
Adrian Cosentini
Diamond Rio
Ani DiFranco
Reggie Dozier
Jimmy Douglass
Eagles
Fred Ebb
Kurt Elling
Scotty Emerick
The Flaming Lips
Floetry
Bill Frisell
Kenny G
Vince Gill
Gorillaz (PRS)
Percy Gray, Jr.
Buddy Guy
Eddie Gonzalez
Jimmy Gonzalez y El Grupo Mazz
Pat Green
Stephan Haeri
William Hamilton
Roy Hargrove
Faith Hill
Dave Holland Quintet
Eric Idle (PRS)
India
Intocable
Jane's Addiction
Etta James
Keith Jarrett
Jars of Clay
Norah Jones
The Jordanaires
John Kander
Peter Kater
John P. Kee
Garrison Keillor
Kitaro (JASRAC)
Korn
Dave Koz
Nathaniel Kunkel
Patti LaBelle
Amel Larrieux
Glenn Lewis
Mark Levine
Linkin Park
The Light Crust Doughboys
Lonestar
Irving Lorenzo
Patty Loveless
Luis Miguel
Timo Maas (GEMA)
Marilyn Manson
Masters at Work
Donnie McClurkin
Del McCoury Band
Tim McGraw
Sarah McLachlan (SOCAN)
Jim McNeely
Joel McNeely
Pat Metheny
Bette Midler
Ismael Miranda
Molotov
Joel Moss
Newsboys
Bob Norberg
Les Nubians (SACEM)
The Oak Ridge Boys
Walter Ostanek (SOCAN)
Joe Pace
Dolly Parton
Nicholas Payton
Ray Price
Queens of the Stone Age
Eugene Record
Relient K
Don Rollins
Roomful of Blues
The Roots
Scott Rouse
David Sanborn
Pete Seeger
The Sensational Nightingales
Thomas Z. Shepard
Brian Setzer Orchestra
Sean Smith
Luciana Souza
Los Straitjackets
Micheal Strange, Jr.
Jimmy Sturr
Howard Tate
Susan Tedeschi
Télépopmusik (SACEM)
Jacky Terrasson
Los Tigres Del Norte
Los Tucanes De Tijuana
Caetano Veloso
Rhonda Vincent
Redd Volkaert
Muddy Waters
Charlie Wilson
Gerald Wilson Orchestra
Kim Wilson
Vickie Winans
George Winston
Wayne Wonder
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Yerba Buena
Maury Yeston
Yellowjackets

The only thing Marsha and Natalie thought they had in common was their love of basketball. When their paths crossed again a few years later, they found out that they both had an even bigger love and passion for music. They started out as simply “Nat and Marsh” on the London music scene, mixing Natalie’s spoken word with Marsha’s soulful voice. After encouragement from a friend, they came to the United States and established themselves as Floetry.

Although they are considered to be very different from each other, Floetry has come together beautifully with their musical creativity and talent. They have written songs for Glenn Lewis, Bilal and Jill Scott, and one of their most successful hits was “Butterflies,” recorded by Michael Jackson. They soon became a songwriting duo in high-demand, but Floetry wanted to do more for Floetry.

In October 2002, they released their debut album, Floetic, which produced such chart-topping hits as the title cut and “Say Yes.” This album is still receiving rave reviews, having been nominated for three 2002 Grammy Awards and most recently two BET Awards.

Floetry’s time is now, with the neo-soul sound taking over the airwaves. But the best way to describe Floetry’s sound is what it is: poetry that flows.]]> 2003-08-28T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233131 Artists, Dobson, Abby, Lewis, Glenn, Wright, Jaguar, Musical Styles, Jazz, Type, International The International Association of African-American Music (IAAAM), a Philadelphia area based non-profit organization, paid tribute to some of the best and brightest in black music during its 24th annual celebration of African-American Music Month. Co-sponsored by BMI, the IAAAM 2002: Visions in Music Celebration was held at the African-American Museum of Philadelphia on June 7 and 8. The 2-day celebration featured a Coca-Cola/IAAAM Youth Day, music photo exhibitions, panels, networking receptions, showcases, a gospel brunch and ended with the Diamond Awards Gala for Excellence.

BMI's Kimberly Dawkins and BMI songwriter Dionne Warwick

As the cornerstone of the IAAAM celebration, the Diamond Awards Gala pays homage to major artists who have made substantial contributions to the promotion and preservation of black music and culture worldwide. Hosted by prominent broadcaster Cathy Hughes, Chairman and Founder of Radio One, this year's honorees included BMI songwriters and artists Dionne Warwick, the Heath Brothers and Kool & the Gang, as well as a tribute to three decades of Gamble & Huff's Sound of Philadelphia honoring Dexter Wansel and McFadden & Whitehead. Other honorees were the Rev. Hezekiah Walker, smooth jazz soul singer Will Downing and Sound of Philadelphia's Jean Carne. Honorary Chairpersons of the Gala, solely sponsored by BMI, included BMI songwriter/artists James Mtume and Jaguar Wright.

BMI's Kimberly Dawkins and music photographer Ronnie Wright

IAAAM event organizer Shani Gonzalez and BMI's Kimberly Dawkins

BMI songwriter Abby Dobson performs at the Emerging Artist Showcase

BMI's Catherine Brewton (2nd left) congratulates the Heath Brothers

BMI songwriter Glenn Lewis performs during a jam session at the Diamond Awards Gala

BMI songwriter Kyle Vereen and BMI's Kimberly Dawkins

With retro-soul firmly on the global music agenda thanks to righteous new r&b acts like Alicia Keys, Angie Stone and Glenn Lewis, England's Jamiroquai could conceivably sit back and take credit for their part in starting the phenomenon.

But instead of sitting out the party, Jamiroquai recently celebrated their trendsetting status by releasing another typically brilliant CD. Entitled A Funk Odyssey, the disc reconciles Jamaroquai's acid jazz roots with their more funk and disco proclivities. Indeed, new songs like "Love Foolosophy," "Corner of the Earth" and "Feel So Good" boast the sort of peace-loving lyricism and feathery r&b grooves complemented by electronic embellishments.

The album has left critics howling in its danceable wake. US Weekly said "A Funk Odyssey" is "packed with urgent, grabby melodies ... and Kay's sweet, soulful entreaties coax you out of your seat and practically force you to move."

Fronted by top hatted vocalist Jason Kay - affectionately known to fans as Jay Kay -- Jamiroquai surfaced in 1992 with the pioneering acid jazz single "When You Gonna Learn?" Trippy yet undeniably funky, the single was embraced by hipsters worldwide as an analog rebuke of digitized techno music. Signing with Sony Music, the group's 1992 debut album Emergency On Planet Earth further solidified Jamiroquai's neo-funk supremacy.

Having established their acid jazz credentials, Jamiroquai abruptly shifted gears and delved headlong into neo-funk and disco. The band's gamble resulted in the hit albums Traveling Without Moving and Synkronized, as well as the single and video "Virtual Insanity."

Before long, '70s funk icons like Bootsy Collins and Gil Scott Heron were publicly raving about Jamiroquai, while contemporary hip hop names like Gang Starr's Guru and Busta Rhymes were either sampling the British funksters or inviting them to collaborate. Since their 1992 emergence, Jamiroquai has sold over 16 million records worldwide.

Yet despite their success, the members of Jamiroquai remain focused. "Success is when I see all those people standing out there in front of me having a good time, and knowing that you've got a great album on your hands that you enjoy as much as they do," Jay Kay said recently. "What's important about selling 16 million albums is it's right across the world. It's not just the UK, there's a whole world of people out there."

A similar confidence and insightfulness animates Lewis's debut CD, World Outside My Window. Sharing the same retro-soul sensibilities as D'Angelo, Maxwell and Erykah Badu, Lewis has drawn favorable comparisons to '70s funk pioneers like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway. The singer's debut single, "Don't You Forget It," possesses the head-bobbing bounce of a modern r&b classic, while other tracks like "Simple Things," "Something To See" and "This Love" make his debut album a special event.

Months before his album was released, Lewis had already created a deafening buzz. He won valuable exposure as the opening act on Alicia Keys's early-2002 tour, and soon thereafter critics weighed-in with ecstatic reviews. Entertainment Weekly included the singer on its "Must List" of up-and-coming stars, while Interview magazine noted Lewis's "elastic voice and gently funkified beats."

The only child of performing parents, Lewis went straight from high school to the stages of the Toronto, Canada club scene. Signing with Epic Records, he made an immediate splash with his single "Don't You Forget It." In fact, Stevie Wonder himself invited the newcomer to visit his Los Angeles radio station. "My heart stopped when he walked in that door," Lewis says, recalling his experience meeting Stevie. "He said it was a pleasure to meet me and that he loved 'Don't You Forget It' . . . then he just started singing it right there! I was blown away."