Atlanta’s leisure elite dressed to impress for an unbelievable afternoon at The Gathering Spot to honor legacy, management, and cultural impression on the sixth Annual Black Music Moguls Brunch. Hosted by Liz Smith and Jaleel Thurman, with sounds curated by DJ Jazzy T, the June twenty second affair was a celebration of a number of music business notables transferring the tradition ahead each behind the boards, in addition to within the boardrooms.
Created by Niya Skyy Hogans, the Black Music Moguls Brunch has grow to be one of many metropolis’s most inspiring and intentional occasions. “I created this as a result of I wished to present flowers to individuals, not solely the artists, however the individuals behind the scenes: the attorneys, the executives, the journalists, the media,” Hogans shared. “To have the ability to maintain it going, yr after yr, is superb. I obtained my begin from individuals behind the scenes, like my mentor Cannon Kent Grant, who offered as we speak. She gave me my first job, so to share the stage along with her is superb and I at all times need to share that love and have fun individuals’s legacy.”
Wearing semi-formal all-black apparel, visitors loved Gray Goose cocktails and brunch plates piled with shrimp and grits, turkey bacon, fruit, eggs, and hen sausage. Sponsored by Gray Goose, MNRK Music Group, Pink Bull, and Pronghorn, the brunch struck the proper stability of magnificence and empowerment.
This yr’s honorees included a dynamic group of game-changers: Joshua “J1” Raiford, Pandora’s Vice President of Music Programming and Program Director for SiriusXM’s Pandora Now, mixtape pioneer and Era Now co-founder DJ Drama, producer Zaytoven, and legal professional Bernie Lawrence-Watkins.
Joshua “J1” Raiford, identified for his radio experience and trailblazing work in music programming, was deeply moved by the popularity. “I’ve hosted this occasion the final two years—so being honored is an unbelievable full-circle second,” he stated. “I at all times maintain God first, work onerous, and deal with individuals with respect, no matter title. The music enterprise is all about relationships—however crucial one is with God.”
Raiford paid tribute to his mom, who was current, and his late father, whose reminiscence fuels his objective. “If God offers you a dream or a imaginative and prescient, he gave it to you for a purpose. Have religion he’s made the availability for the imaginative and prescient, simply be versatile with the trail it takes to get there.”
Zaytoven, the legendary producer behind hits from Gucci Mane to Usher, was honored with the Visionary Award. In a touching second, he mirrored on his childhood in Mississippi, the place his musical origin story started in church. “I by no means thought me sitting on the organ 4 or 5 days per week would result in this,” he stated. “I thank God for my items and for giving me a imaginative and prescient, not simply to be a church musician, however additionally to be a Black music mogul.”
He additionally shared how love and partnership helped form his journey, shouting out his spouse of 18 years, who believed in him from his days slicing hair in barber college: “She instructed all people I made beats earlier than anyone knew who I used to be.”
DJ Drama, a pioneer of Southern mixtape tradition and co-founder of Era Now, accepted the Trendsetter Award. “My journey has at all times been about going in opposition to the grain,” he stated. From his early mixtapes with Tip and Jeezy to launching stars like Lil Uzi Vert and Jack Harlow, Drama reminded the viewers that perception in your imaginative and prescient is non-negotiable. “As loopy as your concepts could also be, they’re what you make them. I’m residing proof of that.”
Bernie Lawrence-Watkins, the award-winning leisure legal professional and founding father of B. Lawrence Watkins & Associates, delivered one of the crucial rousing speeches of the afternoon. “In an business the place creativity is foreign money, authorized energy is safety,” she declared. “Our work is advocacy. It’s empowerment. It’s legacy constructing.”
She devoted her award to each Black legislation pupil questioning their place within the leisure discipline. “To those that got here earlier than me, the authorized minds who navigated an business that didn’t at all times welcome us, you laid the groundwork so we may stroll with confidence. We aren’t simply right here to advise. We’re right here to guide.”
The presence of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who appeared through video, additional cemented the occasion’s impression: “Atlanta is a metropolis synonymous with Black excellence. This occasion strengthens our communities, enhances our tradition, and drives financial improvement.”
All through the occasion, applause rang out as honorees spoke from the center. Tears had been shed, toasts had been raised, and images had been snapped, however the focus remained on the message that Black excellence is greatest achieved via religion, onerous work, and neighborhood.
Black Music Moguls Brunch started with Niya Skyy Hogans imaginative and prescient to guarantee that these usually ignored are seen, heard, and celebrated. She, and government producer Emma Jackson, expertly executed that mission with Sunday’s brunch. From producers to program administrators, attorneys to legends, the occasion was a mirrored image of the brilliance that usually occurs behind the scenes.
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