The 'Blinding Lights' hitmaker and the 'Fight for You' singer have been lauded along with Motown chairman at the inaugural Music in Action Awards in Los Angeles.
- Sep 26, 2021
AceShowbiz - The Weeknd, H.E.R., and Motown chairman/CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam were among the honourees at the Black Music Action Coalition's first annual Music in Action Awards on Thursday night (23Sep21) in Los Angeles.
The Weeknd was the co-recipient of The Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award for his philanthropy and in accepting his latest honour, he recalled the first time he met the music mogul.
"He pulled up to one of my club gigs in Las Vegas; he's one of the reasons why I started making music," the "Blinding Lights" hitmaker said. "He said he'd wait for me to visit with fans first before we talked.
"He was teaching me the lesson that nothing is more important than people and giving back. This is the best award I've ever gotten in my life, I swear. I won't take this for granted."
H.E.R. was handed the same award but was unable to attend. Universal Music Publishing Group executive Walter Jones accepted the honour on her behalf, calling the singer/songwriter his "little sister" and adding, "She seizes the opportunity to be heard and takes that seriously."
Habtemariam was presented with The Clarence Avant Trailblazer Award.
Black Music Action Coalition previously said ahead of the awards show, "BMAC promised to work with the music industry to advance racial equity, and are proud to have done everything we said we would do. Now, while we celebrate the achievements of our industry, we also look forward to continued work with every company in our industry to eliminate all forms of systemic and structural racism."
"We welcome conversations with all who share our commitment to justice and equality and are enthusiastic about the change we will create together."
