Starting his career singing in the church choir at age 10, Hamilton moved to New York in 1993 and inked a deal with Andre Harrell’s Uptown Records for a disc that disappeared when the company went out of business. He paid the bills writing for, and performing with, artists ranging from Tupac to Busta Rhymes to Sunshine Anderson, but he still had his sights set on releasing his own work.

His eventual debut, 1996’s XTC, was almost completely overlooked by critics, radio programmers and music fans alike, and the North Carolina native went to work as a backup singer with D’Angelo. But it was an appearance on the Nappy Roots’ hit “Po Folks” in 2002 that gave Hamilton the visibility and the credibility to walk into Jermaine Dupri’s office with his head held high. The producer’s father had seen Hamilton perform at a Grammy luncheon in 2003 and urged his son to meet the singer.

Within 48 hours, Dupri signed Hamilton to his So So Def imprint and Comin’ From Where I’m From bowed nine months later. “My soul was on empty, I was searchin for something,” he sings on the album’s title track. “Tried to be good, tried to keep from trouble.”

Hamilton’s weathered tenor draws immediate comparison to Bill Withers, and his music has a timeless quality that would be just as comfortable in the ’60s or ’70s as today. Love songs like “Charlene” and “I’m A Mess” delve deep into the pain that relationships can bring, but Hamilton’s passionate delivery seems to offer hope amid the dreary stories he tells. They bump up nicely against the subtle humor and bounce of tracks like “Cornbread, Fish & Collard Greens.”

Even with the growing success of Comin’ From Where I’m From , Hamilton continues to guest on other artists’ songs, including Twista’s recent track “Sunshine,” where Hamilton provides vocal backup over a sample of Withers’s “Lovely Day.”

"I grew up wanting to do the music, so I set a path that wasn't an easy one,” he told an MTV interviewer. “It makes you respect the hard work you put in and all the gifts that life gives you, like when you have some hard days and all of a sudden you have a day that's like, 'OK, this day is for you.' "

Anthony Hamilton is finding a whole lot more of those days lately.]]> 2004-03-03T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233842 Artists, Nappy Roots, Musical Styles, Urban Nappy Roots stopped by the New York office recently to visit with BMI executives. The Grammy and American Music Awards-nominated sextet has just released their sophomore album, Wooden Leather, the follow-up to their platinum-plus Atlantic Records debut Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz.

Pictured in the BMI New York office are BMI's Wardell Malloy, Nappy's R Prophet, BMI's Erica Tompkins, Nappy's Scales, Ron Clutch, B. Stille and Big V, and (kneeling) Nappy's Skinny Deville and band manager Kevin Mitchell. photo: Dana Rodriguez

]]> 2003-09-10T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233791 Artists, Anderson, Bill, Baltimore, Charli, Berry, Chuck, Big Tymers, Bilal, Brown, James, Diddley, Bo, Dozier, Lamont, Floetry, Gotti, Irv, Hamilton, Anthony, Hayes, Isaac, Holland, Brian, Holland, Edward, Hugo, Chad, Ja Rule, Jazze Pha, Jerkins, Rodney, Kelly, R., Little Richard, Nappy Roots, Stone, Angie, Winans, Mario, Awards, Musical Styles, Country, Rock, Urban, BMI Urban Awards BMI ICON honoree Isaac Hayes are Anthony Hamilton (Arista Records), former backup singer for D'Angelo and one of Rolling Stone magazine's 10 Artists to Watch in 2003; soul singer and songwriter Bilal (Interscope); and Floetry (DreamWorks), the female singing duo who fuse poetry with jazz and soul music. Previous ICON honorees include last year's Urban ICON James Brown, R&B/rock legends Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard, the legendary songwriting trio Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland, and country star Bill Anderson.

Among other songwriters, producers and artists confirmed to attend are multiple-platinum recording artist R. Kelly, Ja Rule, Irv Gotti, Rodney Jerkins, Chad Hugo, Mario Winans, Big Tymers, Lil Wayne, Charli Baltimore, Nappy Roots, Angie Stone and Jazze Pha. Additional names will be released as they are confirmed.

The BMI Urban Awards will recognize the songwriters and publishers of the most-played urban songs on US radio and television. An Urban Song of the Year, Urban Songwriter of the Year and Urban Publisher of the Year will be announced that night. In addition to the song awards, BMI will also honor the Top Urban Producers of 2002-2003 and the BMI writers whose songs hit #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop and Rap charts.]]> 2003-07-27T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/200060 Artists, Eminem, Nappy Roots, Organic, Musical Styles, Urban, Musicworld, Hitmaker For years, hip-hop’s East and West coasts hogged the headlines.

But thanks to such gifted street poets as Atlanta’s Outkast and Detroit’s Eminem, the rap world has become a far more geographically diverse place in recent years. Kentucky’s Nappy Roots is currently adding to this diversity by bringing a distinctly rural-Southern flair to its fetching hip-hop sound.

The group’s recent CD, Watermelon, Chicken, & Gritz, is less about the boyz in the hood and more about the boyz on the front porch trying to figure out how to make ends meet. With the new track “Ballin’ On a Budget,” the sextet raps about having “no pager, no cell phone, no access at all.” These country-college boys chose to scrimp and save rather than sink their hard earned money into fast cars and fancy jewelry.

The members of Nappy Roots are in no danger of becoming homeless anytime soon. This past October, Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz went platinum.

Nappy Roots first coalesced at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green (except for member Big V, who attended Eastern Kentucky) in the mid-’90s. While students, they operated a record store near campus with a production studio in the back. When they began creating music, they enlisted the help of fellow students who knew about recording equipment, graphic design and making music videos. Nappy Roots released two independent albums, Country Fried Cess and no comb, no brush, no fade, no perm.

Atlantic Records signed the group in 1998, but the band’s first album for the label (Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz) wasn’t released until 2002. It was clearly worth the wait as well the time and effort Nappy Roots put into this refreshingly organic work, which features a down-home vibe thanks to such elements as organs, harmonies, mandolins and blues guitars.

Now the group is the toast of both coasts and points in between, having become an MTV staple and guests on “Late Night With David Letterman” and “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” Make no mistake, rural rap has arrived.

Sheryl Crow

Eminem

Norah Jones

Other BMI writers who received multiple nominations included four each for country darlings the Dixie Chicks, producer Arif Mardin and Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger (including Record of the Year for the Nickelback smash "How You Remind Me"). Newcomer Vanessa Carlton picked up three. Fellow BMI pop divas Pink, Britney Spears and Michelle Branch garnered two nominations each, as did blues legend B.B. King, film composer Thomas Newman and gospel giant Fred Hammond.

BMI's 2003 Grammy nominees:

FIVE NOMINATIONS

Sheryl Crow
Eminem
Norah Jones

FOUR NOMINATIONS

Dixie Chicks
Chad Kroeger (SOCAN)

THREE NOMINATIONS

Vanessa Carlton
Floetry (Marsha Ambrosius, Natalie Stewart)
Arif Mardin
Pat Metheny

TWO NOMINATIONS

Michelle Branch
Michael Brecker
The Chieftains
Madukwu Chinwah
Natalie Cole
Dirty Vegas (PRS)
Foo Fighters
Carlos Franzetti
Kenny G
Pat Green
Herbie Hancock
Nellee Hooper (PRS)
B.B. King
Diana Krall (SOCAN)
Rashid Lonnie Lynn
Nappy Roots
Willie Nelson
Thomas Newman
Nickel Creek
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Dolly Parton
Pink
Britney Spears
Ralph Stanley
3 Doors Down (Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson, Matt Roberts)
Doc Watson
John Williams

SINGLE NOMINEES

Aaliyah
Will Ackerman
John Adams
Christina Aguilera
Darol Anger
Audio Adrenaline
Bacilos
David Balakrishnan
Charli Baltimore
Banda El Recodo De Cruz Lizárraga
Jeff Bass
Daniel Bedingfield (PRS)
Big Tymers
Eddie Blazonczyk
The Blind Boys of Alabama
Kevin Bond
Ryan Bowser
David Bowie (PRS)
Brandy
Norman Brown
Solomon Burke
Burning Sky
R.L. Burnside
Gary Burton
Gary Calamar
Michel Camilo
Cam’Ron
The Canton Spirituals
Capleton (PRS)
Caribbean Jazz Project
Cee-Lo
Lauren Christy
The Clinch Mountain Boys
Andy Colver (PRS)
Commissioned
Common
Creed
Bill Cunliffe
The Charlie Daniels Band
Diamond Rio
Michael Doucet
Dave Douglas
Don Edwards
Danny Elfman
Enya (PRS)
Faith Evans
Tommy Flanagan
The Flaming Lips
Béla Fleck
Michael J. Fox
Allison Brewster Franzetti
The Funk Brothers
Peter Gabriel (PRS)
David Lee Garza y Los Musicales
Osvaldo Golijov
Gov’t Mule
Al Green
Grits
Dave Grusin
Deitrick Haddon
Fred Hammond
Roy Hargrove
Jesse Harris
Don Henley
Faith Hill
Dave Holland Big Band
David Holt
Intocable
Etta James
Jars of Clay
JaRule
Jay-Z
Maxi Jazz (PRS)
Little Joe & La Familia
Elton John (PRS)
The Jordanaires
Juanes
John P. Kee
Salif Keita (PRS)
R. Kelly
Kinky
Kitaro
Jennifer Knapp
Knoc-Turn’Al
Korn
Dave Koz
Jeff Koz
Alison Krauss
Femi Kuti (SACEM)
kd lang
Jim Lauderdale
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Don Letts (PRS)
Lonestar
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
The Light Crust Doughboys
Limi-T 21
Israel “Cachao” López
Taj Mahal
Lloyd Maines
Maraca
Martina McBride
Delbert McClinton
Freddie McGregor (PRS)
Lee Thomas Miller
Mingus Big Band
Moby
Charlie Musselwhite
Meshell Ndegeocello
The Neptunes
Newsong
Nickelback (SOCAN)
*NSYNC
The Oak Ridge Boys
Makoto Ozone (JASRAC)
Lee “Scratch” Perry
Pharrell
Queens of the Stone Age
Busta Rhymes
Riders In the Sky
Peter Rowan
Nancy Rumbel
Nicky Ryan (PRS)
Roma Ryan (PRS)
Mingo Saldivar y Sus Tremendos Cuatro Espadas
Santana
John Santos and the Machete Ensemble
Al Schmitt
The John Scofield Band
Earl Scruggs
Wayne Shorter
Jon Sidel
Siggno
Allan Slutsky
Arthur Smith (PRS)
The Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Scott Spock
Ralph Stanley II
Sting (PRS)
Angie Stone
Omar Sosa
Luciana Souza
Jimmy Sturr
Take Six
Susan Tedeschi
John Tesh
The Temptations
Eric Tingstad
Tobymac
Trick Pony
Kathy Troccoli
Los Tucanes De Tijuana
McCoy Tyner
Jai Uttal
Bebo Valdés
Carlos “Patato” Valdés
The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
Scott Wenzel
Kenny Werner
Lucinda Williams
Robin Williams
Dean Wilson (PRS)
BeBe Winans
The Roland White Band
Pete Woodruff
Yellowjackets
Joe Zawinul

Earning two nominations each were rockers Creed and Linkin Park, country darlings the Dixie Chicks, and hip hop group Nappy Roots. The music to the blockbuster hit movie, Spider-Man is up for Favorite Soundtrack.

The American Music Awards, whose nominees and winners are determined by fan voting, will be hosted by the Osbourne family and will air live on ABC on January 13, 2003 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Complete List of BMI American Music Awards Nominees

POP/ROCK
Favorite Male Artist
Eminem

Favorite Female Artist
Sheryl Crow

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Creed
Linkin Park
Nickelback (SOCAN)

Favorite Album
Eminem
The Eminem Show

HIP-HOP/R&B
Favorite Male Artist
Eminem
Ja Rule

Favorite Female Artist
Jennifer Lopez

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Nappy Roots

Favorite Album
Eminem
The Eminem Show

Favorite New Artist
Nappy Roots

COUNTRY
Favorite Male Artist
Toby Keith
Tim McGraw

Favorite Female Artist
Martina McBride

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Brooks & Dunn
Dixie Chicks
Lonestar

Favorite Album
Dixie Chicks
Home
Toby Keith
Unleashed

ALTERNATIVE
Favorite Artist
Creed
Linkin Park

ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Favorite Artist
Vanessa Carlton
Five For Fighting

LATIN
Favorite Artist
Shakira

CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Favorite Artist
Jars Of Clay

SOUNDTRACK
Favorite Soundtrack
Spider-Man]]> 2002-11-21T17:00:01-05:00