A selection of Atlanta's music industry elite along with rising urban stars made the last day of school for students at Benjamin S. Carson Prep School even sweeter. Performing rights organization BMI and Teach For America partnered to throw the kids an all-star pep rally Friday, May 25, rewarding them for their hard work, good grades and steady attendance.

Atlanta r&b artist Lloyd performed "Get It Shawty" for a crowd of cheering youngsters, and then called up-and-comer Block Ent/Bad Boy South's Gorilla Zoe to the stage to perform as well. Lloyd asked the students to raise their hands and repeat, "I promise to follow my dreams. I promise to follow my heart. Nothing is impossible." Successful industry professionals, including Hannah Kang, general manager of Grand Hustle Entertainment; Laura Giles, general manager of Sho'Nuff Records; hit songwriter Teddy Bishop (Aaliyah's "I Miss You"); renowned DJ Ruckus; comedian GRIFF from the HOT 107.9 A-Team Morning Show; entertainment attorney Phaedra Parks; and BMI Vice President of Writer/Publisher Relations Catherine Brewton, each provided motivational words that echoed Lloyd's chant, and sought to encourage the students to stay on the right path.

The roots of the assembly date back to February, when BMI's Catherine Brewton guest taught a lesson in Teach For America corps member Anastasia Michals's sixth grade class. She was there as part of Teach For America Week, a nationwide event in which community leaders serve as guest teachers in Teach For America corps members' classrooms. During this visit, Brewton made a pact with the students - if they worked hard on grades and consistent attendance, and she would return with a performer from the music industry.

As the school year wound down, it was clear that the sixth-graders had reached their goal. Brewton kept her promise, returning to Michals's sixth-grade classroom with rising r&b star Lloyd, who greeted the excited students, posed for photos and signed autographs and posters. "Teach For America Week gave me the chance to see how important it is to set high expectations for our kids," said Brewton. "They have the will and ability to do so well. I am proud to bring Lloyd and my other music industry friends here to meet such an amazing group of young people."

"We greatly appreciate BMI and Catherine's commitment to Anastasia's students," said Diana Ellsworth, executive director of Teach For America. "This showcase of entertainment pros gave the kids a taste of the music industry and reinforced the message that the school and our corps members instill in the students all year - that if they set and reach ambitious goals, the results will be rewarding."

About Teach For America Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. This year, 4,400 corps members are teaching in over 1,000 schools in 25 regions across the country, and more than 12,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org.

High school pals Adam Levine (vocals and guitar), Jesse Carmichael (keyboards), Mickey Madden (bass) and Ryan Dusick (drums) previously released one major-label album as Kara's Flowers while still teens and were subsequently dropped. "We were like, 'Okay, what do we do now?'," recalls Levine. "So we ran away to college to figure it out." He and Carmichael landed at a school in New York where "we were staying in this housing place that was primarily black.

"The halls would be blasting Gospel music and people would be listening to stuff that we'd never actually listened to, like Biggie Smalls, Missy Elliot and Jay-Z. The Aaliyah record had come out around then, and we were just blown away. When I think of songwriting, I think of The Beatles, Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel -- the stuff that I grew up on -- but then I was like, 'I want to do this.' Stevie Wonder came into my life at that point," says Levine, "and I just found a knack for doing it."

On arriving back in L.A., they added guitarist James Valentine and became Maroon 5, "a soul band, but with five white dudes," according to Levine. "We just wanted to do something different. Just to do the thing that is expected, we were getting kind of bored with it. We were into doing something that was against the grain, taking something out of context."

"Harder To Breathe" came about when the band thought their debut, Songs About Jane , was done, but their label insisted on another crack at songwriting. "It was the 11th hour, and the label wanted more songs," Levine recalls. "It was the last crack. I was just pissed. I wanted to make a record and the label was applying a lot of pressure, but I'm glad they did."

BMI songwriter/artists once again swept the Country Music category, winning all four awards. Winners included country music's superstar couple Tim McGraw, who took home his third Favorite Male Artist trophy, and Faith Hill, who won her second award for Favorite Female Artist. Rounding out the category were multi-award winning artist Toby Keith, who earned his first American Music Award with a Favorite Album win for his triple-platinum CD Unleashed, and perennial favorites Alabama, who collected their 23rd AMA, this one for Favorite Country Group. The group has more American Music Awards than any other performer, followed by Michael Jackson with 21 and Kenny Rogers with 19.

Other top BMI winners included Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Band, Ricky Martin for Favorite Latin Artist, and Steven Curtis Chapman for Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Music Artist.

Nominations for the American Music Awards are based on sales figures and radio play, and winners are selected by a survey of about 20,000 listeners.

BMI's 2003 American Music Award Winners:

POP OR ROCK 'N ROLL MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist
Kid Rock

Favorite Female Artist
Jennifer Lopez

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Fleetwood Mac

SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES MUSIC
Favorite Female Artist
Aaliyah

COUNTRY
Favorite Male Artist
Tim McGraw

Favorite Female Artist
Faith Hill

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Alabama

Favorite Album
"Unleashed"
Toby Keith

RAP/HIP-HOP
Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz

ALTERNATIVE MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Linkin Park

LATIN MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Ricky Martin

CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Steven Curtis Chapman]]> 2003-11-17T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/200050 Artists, 3 Doors Down, Aaliyah, Adams, John, Aguilera, Christina, Arnold, Brad, Bacilos, Baltimore, Charli, Bedingfield, Daniel, Big Tymers, Blind Boys of Alabama, The, Bowie, David, Branch, Michelle, Brandy, Busta Rhymes, Cachao, Carlton, Vanessa, Christy, Lauren, Christy, Lauren, Creed, Crow, Sheryl, Daniels, Charlie, Dirty Vegas, Dixie Chicks, Elfman, Danny, Eminem, Enya, Evans, Faith, Flaming Lips, The, Floetry, Foo Fighters, Gabriel, Peter, Garza, David Lee, Golijov, Osvaldo, Green, Al, Green, Pat, Hammond, Fred, Hancock, Herbie, Hargrove, Roy, Harris, Jesse, Henley, Don, Hill, Faith, Intocable, James, Etta, Jars of Clay, John, Elton, Jones, Norah, Juanes, Kelly, R., Kenny G, King, B.B., Kinky, Knapp, Jennifer, Korn, Krauss, Alison, Lauderdale, Jim, Lonestar, Maines, Lloyd, Mardin, Arif, McBride, Martina, Metheny, Pat, Miller, Lee Thomas, Moby, Nappy Roots, Nelson, Willie, Neptunes, The, Newman, Thomas, Nickel Creek, Nickelback, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The, Parton, Dolly, Queens of the Stone Age, Roberts, Matt, Santos, John, Scruggs, Earl, Shorter, Wayne, Slutsky, Allan, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Spears, Britney, Spock, Scott, Stanley, Ralph, Sting, Stone, Angie, Tedeschi, Susan, Temptations, The, Tesh, John, Trick Pony, Williams, Lucinda, Winans, Bebe, Musical Styles, Blues, Country, Jazz, Pop Sheryl Crow, Eminem and Norah Jones lead the list of nominees for this year's Grammy Awards with five nods each. Nominees were announced today (1/7) at a press conference at New York's Madison Square Garden. The 45th Grammy Awards will be held on February 23 at the Garden, and will be broadcast live on CBS from 8-11:30 (ET/PT).

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

Aaliyah		Tim McGraw
'N Sync		Brooks & Dunn

BMI swept the Country Music category winning all five awards including McGraw's two trophies for Favorite Male Artist and Favorite Album (Set This Circus Down). McGraw later accepted the Favorite Female Artist award for his wife, Faith Hill, who was unable to attend the ceremony. Rounding out the category were country duo Brooks & Dunn, taking home statuettes for Favorite Band, Duo or Group, and country trio Trick Pony, who won the coveted Favorite New Artist award.

Yolanda Adams

Sade

Other BMI winners included gospel singer Yolanda Adams (Favorite Artist - Contemporary Inspirational Music), Janet Jackson (Favorite Female Artist - Pop or Rock Music), 'N Sync (Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop or Rock Music), Sade (Favorite Artist - Adult Contemporary Music) and Michael Jackson, honored as the American Music Awards' Artist of the Century.

The singer and actress Aaliyah seemed on course to living up to this description when she died tragically last August. She and her entourage were on their way back from a video shoot in the Bahamas when their light aircraft crashed.

The 22-year-old Detroit native appeared on the cusp of true stardom. Her death coincided with the release of her third album, which had garnered rapturous reviews from publications such as Rolling Stone and Spin. Her persona on the album is self-assured, sensual and sometimes vulnerable.

Aaliyah's ability to tackle infectious ballads as well as harder numbers like the techno-industrial tinged exercise "What If" and the funky R&B-oriented "Extra Smooth" made her a versatile, infectious talent.

The Aaliyah album climbed to the top of the U.S. charts after her death, but, unfortunately, it will forever remain a mystery just how far she might have taken her promising career had she lived.

Aaliyah had already blossomed into a multi-pronged talent when she was barely out of her teens. Her supermodel looks helped her cross over into acting, where she quickly showed that she belonged on the silver screen. She made her feature film debut in Romeo Must Die, which starred Jet Li. Her performance of the song "Try Again" from the film's soundtrack went to the top of the U.S. singles chart in June 2000.

She subsequently landed a key role in the movie Queen of the Damned, which is based on Ann Rice's "Vampire Chronicles," and is scheduled for released in early 2002.

Indeed, her acting career was definitely on the fast track. Aaliya was cast in the highly anticipated film sequels Matrix 2 and Matrix 3. She had already done some initial shooting for these projects and was scheduled to continue work on the movies in early 2002.

Because of her acting commitments, Aaliyah's music career proceeded at a slower pace than usual, which actually may have been a blessing, considering how young she was when she recorded her first album.

Aaliyah was just 14 in 1994 when she released her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing But A Number, produced by R. Kelly. The disc spawned the U.S. Top 10 singles "Back & Forth" and "At Your Best (You Are Love)." At the time she was a student at the Detroit Performing Arts High School.

In 1996, Aaliyah's second album, the Timbaland-produced One In a Million, was released and it proved that she was no one-hit wonder. The first single, "If Your Girl Only Knew," went double platinum.

She subsequently scored a big hit in 1998 with "Are You That Somebody" from the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack and she sang "Journey To the Past" from the film Anastasia at the Academy Awards that same year.

"I don't think about my previous success," she told a reporter just prior to her death. "I'm happy that the work I've done in the past has been very successful. All I can do is leave it in God's hands and hope my fans feel where I'm coming from."

The American Music Awards, whose nominees and winners are determined by fan voting, will air live on ABC on January 9, 2002 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles with Sean "P. Diddy" Combs as host. For the first time, the American Music Awards will present the Coca-Cola New Music Award to an unsigned band, which will get to perform at the show.

Complete List of BMI American Music Awards Nominees:

R. Kelly
Pop/Rock Favorite Male Artist
Soul/R&B Favorite Male Artist

Janet Jackson
Pop/Rock Favorite Female Artist
Soul/R&B Favorite Album (All For You)

'N Sync
Pop/Rock Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Pop/Rock Favorite Album (Celebrity)

Aaliyah
Soul/R&B Favorite Female Artist
Soul/R&B Favorite Album (Aaliyah)

Tim McGraw
Country Favorite Male Artist
Country Favorite Album (Set This Circus Down)

Brooks & Dunn
Country Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Country Favorite Album (Steers and Stripes)

Lonestar
Country Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Country Favorite Album (I'm Already There)

Jennifer Lopez
Pop/Rock Favorite Female Artist

Lifehouse
Pop/Rock Favorite New Artist

Toby Keith
Country Favorite Male Artist

Travis Tritt
Country Favorite Male Artist

Sara Evans
Country Favorite Female Artist

Faith Hill
Country Favorite Female Artist

Blake Shelton
Country Favorite New Artist

Trick Pony
Country Favorite New Artist

She Daisy
Country Favorite Band, Duo or Group

Enya
Adult Contemporary Favorite Artist

LeAnn Rimes
Adult Contemporary Favorite Artist

Sade
Adult Contemporary Favorite Artist

Shakira
Latin Music Favorite Artist

Ja Rule
Rap/Hip Hop Favorite Artist

Linkin Park
Alternative Music Favorite Artist

Yolanda Adams
Contemporary Inspirational Favorite Artist

Steven Curtis Chapman
Contemporary Inspirational Favorite Artist

Donnie McClurkin
Contemporary Inspirational Favorite Artist

BMI singer/artist Aaliyah died Saturday (8/25) when a chartered Cessna plane carrying her and eight others crashed after take-off from Abaco Island in the Bahamas. The 22-year-old r&b/pop singer and budding actress was on her way to Miami after finishing shooting a new video from her self-titled third album just released in July.

The cause of the crash, which killed all nine passengers, was not immediately known. Local police said the plane flew about 200 feet, crashed and caught on fire. Weather was not believed to be a factor. However, CNN reports the pilot had asked the passengers to leave behind some of their luggage because the plane's load was too heavy, but the passengers refused. Bahamian officials have launched an investigation with the help of the NTSB from the U.S.

Born Aaliyah Dana Haughton in Brooklyn in 1979, she grew up in Detroit and released her first album, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number, at the age of 15. Produced by r&b superstar R. Kelly, the platinum album included the two top 10 hits "Back and Forth" and "At Your Best (You Are Love)."

After the release of her second album, the double-platinum One in a Million, Aaliyah recorded two smash soundtrack singles with producer Timbaland, "Try Again" from Romeo Must Die, in which she also starred, and "Are You That Somebody?" from Dr. Dolittle. Both earned Grammy nominations. She also sang the Oscar-nominated "Journey to the Past" from the animated film Anastasia. Her debut performance in Romeo Must Die earned her critical acclaim, helping her land roles in other films including the lead in the upcoming Anne Rice film Queen of the Damned, which she had just finished shooting, and two uncompleted Matrix sequels.

She is survived by her parents, Diane and Michael Haughton, and a brother, Rashaad.

By Rob Patterson

From the dawning days of rhythm & blues through today's multifaceted urban music scene, BMI has been at the forefront of music from the African American tradition, styles and community. A continuity of teamwork between BMI and Black music-makers extends from Aretha Franklin to Janet Jackson, from Motown hitmakers Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier & Brian Holland to R. Kelly, and from Miles Davis to Terence Blanchard.

B.B. King

Busta Rhymes

Janet Jackson

Eminem

When r&b, in its formative years, was the province of budding independent labels, small publishers, and adventurous radio stations, BMI opened its ranks to the musical movement when the existing performing rights organization failed to recognize the legitimacy and potential brewing in Black American music. The considerable fact that 90 percent of the R&B Foundation's Pioneer Awards have been bestowed on BMI artists attests to BMI's historical commitment to Black music.

Eric Benet

Macy Gray

Mariah Carey

Michael Jackson

The BMI Black music rosters reads like a musical honor role: Jazz giants such as Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Dinah Washington and John Coltrane; blues icons like Leadbelly, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and T-Bone Walker; r&b pacesetters such as Ray Charles, Fats Domino and James Brown; soul sisters Etta James, Irma Thomas and Diana Ross; rock pioneers like Chuck Berry and Little Richard.

Mya

R. Kelly

Snoop Dogg

Toni Braxton

The BMI bloodlines can be traced from then to now, from Carla Thomas to Donna Summer to Vanessa Williams, from Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff to LA Reid and Babyface, from Otis Redding to Michael Jackson. And if you check this space 20 or 30 years from now, the odds say its likely that BMI's contemporary urban music artists will be just as legendary and influential as those BMI has represented throughout the history of Black popular music in America.

In a sense, the pages have already been written by today's BMI star talents. Mariah Carey has proven herself a formidable and enduring presence in popular music, while Macy Gray is arising to help bring soul back to its rightful place of presence in urban music. Kevin Eubanks delivers sublime new variations of the jazz guitar heritage to millions on The Tonight Show, and Joshua Redman redefines the notion of young jazz giant for a new millennium. Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Lil' Kim continue to push the hip-hop envelope, while Kirk Franklin and Winans Phase 2 keep the gospel spirit alive.

But it's not just the marquee names that make these exciting times for BMI's urban music roster. And even some of BMI's team whose work happens primarily behind the scenes are earning public note on the level of the artists they work with. Producer, songwriter, keyboardist and remixer Dallas Austin launched Monica and TLC, and counts Michael Jackson, Madonna, Boyz II Men and Aretha Franklin among his credits. Such musical versatility and vision continues with such recording and writing powerhouses as Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis, Master P, Tim & Bob, SoulShock & Karlin, Jean Claude 'Poke' Olivier of The Track Masters, Organized Noise, Teddy Bishop and Cory Rooney - all drawing from a differing wealth of musical wells and creating new and innovative musical moments.

Hip-hop remains a powerfully progressive and sometimes provocative movement in modern popular music. Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes and Goodie Mob keep it real, and the beats and themes will surely remain hard in the hands of such acts as Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz, Ja Rule, Mos Def, Trick Daddy, Silkk the Shocker, JT Money, Kurupt and J-Shin. At the same time, acts like The Roots, Black Eyed Peas, Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek and Spooks infuse a rich mixture of styles into the hip-hop genre. Once the sound of the street, just as r&b had been, hip-hop is now an integral part of contemporary culture. And its Caribbean cousin dancehall is also claiming the attention of the public ear thanks to Buju Banton.

R&B has always boasted its powerful cadre of female singers. And just as Carla Thomas, Martha Reeves and Jodi Whatley established their voices as trademarks, so have the women like Brandy, Toni Braxton and Faith Evans. Rising to join them are such soul sisters as Angie Stone, Mya, Sunshine Anderson and Aaliyah, while R&B brothers such as Eric Benet and Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes stir up new soul traditions for today's urban music fans as Clyde McPhatter, Sam Moore and Aaron Neville have before them. The girl group traditions forged by The Shirelles and The Supremes find modern expression in the "new jill flava" of Total.

As the recent Ken Burns documentary demonstrated, jazz is one of the richest skeins in the American cultural tapestry. BMI has been a consistent presence in jazz, from Lionel Hampton to Coleman Hawkins to Herbie Hancock to Roy Hargrove. Today, Terence Blanchard, Christian McBride, Kevin Eubanks and Bilal maintain the instrumental and compositional greatness of jazz music for the genre's future.

Spirituals have always been an essential element in Black music and BMI's mission, thanks to everyone from James Ingram to The Fairfield Four. And perhaps nobody has had a more profound impact on contemporary music and the popularity of spiritual sounds than minister, songwriter, producer and visionary Kirk Franklin. In the past, one could make similar claims for The Winans, and the family tradition forged there is carried on by Winans Phase 2. The ears reached by these artists are now opening as well to such rising talents as Yolanda Adams and Trin-i-tee 5:7.

Such diversity, commercial impact, innovation and encouragement of burgeoning styles and new artists has been a hallmark of BMI's commitment to Black music from the time that "race music" became rhythm & blues, and on through soul, funk and disco right up to rap and new jack swing. As BMI salutes tradition through its longtime support of the R&B Foundation, it also helps create the future that is urban music in all its breadth and creativity. Because at BMI, Black Music Month is celebrated 12 months a year.