( ENSPIRE Entertainment ) Urban One Honors “The Sound Track of Black America” Acknowledged Those Who Paved The Way and New Artists Showcasing Their Talents
ENSPIRE Contributor: Naomi Stamps
TV One and CLEO TV both aired the fourth annual Urban One Honors award show on January 17th. Grammy-award singer Ne-Yo hosted this broadcast while TV personality and co-host Eva Marcille hosted an exclusive backstage segment. This segment included exclusive interviews with honorees, presenters, and performers. The theme for this year’s Urban One Honors was “The Sound Track of Black America.” Ne-Yo told viewers this event was focused on giving flowers to past and present artists who made outstanding contributions to music.
This year’s Urban One Honors honorees were Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Lifetime Achievement; Timberland, Music Innovation; Gamble and Huff, Living Legends; Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Inspiration Impact; and Oscar, Grammy and Emmy award-winning Jennifer Hudson, Entertainment Icon. Wireless provider, T-Mobile, proudly served as the Presenting Sponsor of this special event. Performers for this event included H.E.R., Kelly Price, Inspiration nominee Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Tyrese, Tank, Ralph Tresvant, Johnny Gill, Tyrese, and a special set by disc jockey D-Nice. Despite the pandemic, the show is still committed to paying homage to those making a difference in their professions and setting an example for future generations.
Urban One Honors began with an opening performance by R&B singer H.E.R., who performed songs including Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues” and her song “Fight For You.” Since this special landed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, this performer used her platform to acknowledge the national holiday and echo the ongoing fight for equality. This segue into the special broadcast reminded viewers to boldly stand against injustice and to utilize their resources for advocacy. Besides this, H.E.R.’s performance showed the importance of honoring those who gave their lives for future generations to succeed.
The night was filled with various performances highlighting works from the Urban One Honors nominees. For instance, disk jockey D-Nice, who kept viewers entertained with his “Club Quarantine,” honored Timberland with a set featuring the rapper’s well-known works. This included the late Aaliyah’s “More Than A Woman,” Timberland’s “Give It To Me,” and Jay-Z’s “Dirt Off My Shoulder.” This music mix made viewers in attendance and at home reminisce as they danced to the music. Besides this, the broadcast also featured presenters such as Marlon Wayans, Stellar-award winner VaShawn Mitchell, and Jermaine Dupri. They also spoke a few words on nominees who impacted their lives and how grateful they were to honor them.
URBAN ONE HONORS is presented by TV One and Radio One’s Washington D.C. market’s cluster of radio stations: Majic 102.3 and 92.7, WKYS 93.9, Praise 104.1, WOL 1450, Spirit 1340, and The Team 980 and 95.9. The televised event heralds the accomplishments of individuals who have made extraordinary contributions in entertainment, media, music, education, and the community. URBAN ONE HONORS is Executive Produced by Eric Tomosunas and Robert A. Boyd, II of Swirl Films. Marilyn Gill is the show’s Executive Producer. Kim Burse serves as Musical Director. Kashon Powell is the Vice President of Programming for Radio One and Susan Henry is the Executive Producer in Charge of Production for TV One.
Learn more about TV One here.
Learn more about CLEO TV here.
Related Article: TV One’s Celebration of “Women Leading the Change” at the Annual Urban One Honors
