Alicia Keys, Grandmaster Flash among recipients of first ICE Medal of Honor

Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Suzanne de Passe are also set for awards at this inaugural celebration of Black American music next month in Atlanta.

The Black American Music Association announced on Wednesday that it is launching its inaugural Imperial Crown of Excellence Medal of Honor awards, naming veteran singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, hip-hop DJ icon Grandmaster Flash and production legends Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis among its first recipients.

The ICE Medal of Honor celebration is set to take place on Sunday, Oct. 15, at Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College in Atlanta. The black-tie ceremonies honor the creative visionaries, legends and trailblazers who have impacted Black American music.

Keys will receive the Ella Fitzgerald Gold Standard Award. She is a 15-time Grammy Award winner with six platinum-certified albums and nine top-10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including No. 1 hits like “Fallin’,” “My Boo” with Usher, “No One” and “Empire State of Mind” with Jay-Z.

Grandmaster Flash will receive the Transformative Award. As one of the forefathers of hip-hop music and culture, he pioneered the artistry of the modern hip-hop DJ while being a creative force as an artist. His group, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, became the first hip-hop group to get inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Former The Time members Jam and Lewis will get ICE’s Creative Impact Award. The pop-soul songwriting and production duo have crafted hits from the late 1980s into the 21st century for R&B chart-dominant artists like Janet Jackson, Usher and Mary J. Blige. They’ve received a staggering 23 Grammy nominations, winning five in total over the years. The two have been up for Producer of the Year a whopping 11 times and won once in 1987, their very first year in contention.

Other ICE honorees include philanthropist Robert F. Smith, who is getting the Ray Charles/Harry Belafonte “Patron of Arts Award. Music executive Suzanne de Passe will receive a trophy named in her honor, the Suzanne de Passe Trailblazer Award.

Jeffrey Harleston of Universal Music Group will get the Pace/Harrell Executive Leadership Award, and the late Michael Jackson will be posthumously saluted with the eponymous Michael Jackson ICON Award.

The inaugural ICE Medal of Honor presentation will be hosted by various celebrities, with Ray Chew serving as musical director and Wyclef Jean and Donald Lawrence handling segment curation. Black American Music Association founders Michael Mauldin & Demmette Guidry are executive producers, along with songwriter-producer Jermaine Dupri and DNA Music Group’s Derrick Williams.

“We are thrilled to launch the ICE Medal of Honor and to recognize these outstanding individuals who have made an enduring mark on the world through their art and creativity,” said Mauldin. “This celebration is a testament to the power of Black American music in shaping culture and inspiring generations.”

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