Usher, LL Cool J Honored

Usher paid tribute to the male role models in his life at the 2024 Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) Gala, which took place Thursday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. 

“As a kid, I was given this very odd, awkward name — because I never met another Usher — so it was a bit complicated, but the most unfortunate reality is that I was gifted this name by a man who never showed up, who was never there to help me give meaning, give understanding, give some reference to what this name means, where it came from, and what it could potentially be,” said Usher who received the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award as he teased a few dance moves along to Bobby Brown’s “Don’t Be Cruel,” as it played in the background.

The award was presented to Usher by Brown, one of several figures the singer acknowledged as being instrumental to shaping his definition of a man, a father and an entertainer, including his brother James, who sat in the audience, actor and activist Harry Belafonte and even Jones, for whom his award is named.

Retelling a story of how he saved up to purchase a Bobby Brown cassette tape as a kid, Usher recalled how his mother questioned whether that was how he wanted to spend what little money he had. “I’m making an investment in my future is what I thought,” Usher said. “And if I can save this money and I get this tape, there’s a light there because maybe I can define myself or what this name Usher means if I can be more like Bobby Brown.”

Usher later recounted his experience first meeting the “King of R&B” at 12 or 13 years old, saying, “He knew me before all of you knew me… I’m thankful for the investment in my dream because if you truly do believe, you can. I just encourage each and every person in here to continue to make the investment that you are into others because it really does matter. There may be a kid with an odd name that just needs somebody to pour into them, that needs somebody to believe in them, that needs somebody to encourage them to be able to find their way to their passion.”

The fourth annual BMAC Gala, hosted by entrepreneur and media personality Kenny Burns, began with DJ Mars spinning tracks by three Black artists who recently died: Fatman Scoop, Tito Jackson and Rich Homie Quan. Anthony Hamilton and The Ton3s would later sing a musical tribute to Frankie Beverly of the funk band Maze who died on Sept. 10. BJ the Chicago Kid then performed the Black National Anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before an auction to support BMAC commenced. Usher was the highest bidder of the night, spending $7,000 on a signed synthesizer from producer Jimmy Jam and another $30,000 for the yellow sunglasses James Brown wore during his infamous April 4, 1988 CNN interview. Flava Flav later auctioned off his diamond clock watch for another $15,000.

The first award of the night went to Live Nation, which received the BMAC 365 Award, followed by BeyGood executive director Ivy McGregor who was presented with the BMAC Change Agent Award. Atlanta rapper Gunna was also presented with a commemoration for his BMAC 30349 Guaranteed Income Program, providing a $1,000 monthly stipend to families residing in his hometown of South Fulton, Georgia; while BET Media Group executives Scott Mills (president and CEO), LouisCarr (president, media sales), Constance Orlando (executive vp of specials, music programming and music strategy) and Kimberly Paige (executive vp and CMO) received the BMAC Social Impact Award presented by Taraji P. Henson.

“What I want you to know is that representation matters,” said Henson in front the audience which included Kelly Rowland and Evan Ross. “As a little girl, as a dreamer, not seeing me represented on TV didn’t allow me to dream. When BET came along, I saw a place for me here. And 360, look at it, now my production deal is with BET.”

LL Cool J received the other major honor of the evening, the Clarence Avant Trailblazer Award, presented to him by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump. 

“We sat beside each other at a Viacom dinner, where I gave a speech about unity and diversity and LL leaned over to me and said, ‘Attorney Crump, you don’t know how much you impact the culture; you don’t know how much of an impact you have on society,’ ” Crump began. “Well, tonight, before a jury of your peers at the Black Music Action Coalition Gala, I say to you, LL Cool J, you don’t know how much of an impact you have had on the culture.”

In taking the stage to accept the award, LL Cool J spoke about the latest chapter in his 40-year career. “One of the things that was really important to me as I embarked on this new journey and decided to make a new album— the only reason I really did it is one, because I love it, but secondly, I just feel like I was tired of people feeling like hip-hop culture in general and our music as a whole is disposable,” he stated. “We’ve kind of been trained as a culture to believe that if an artist goes away for a weekend, they go on a vacation for 15 days, their career’s over. Why?”

Debunking that myth through his own longevity, LL Cool J later added, “At the end of the day, I just want you to know that you must continue to believe in the beauty of your dreams. You don’t have to shuck and jive and become somebody different to get where you’re trying to get. Be you. People will respect you a lot more if you’re yourself.”