Angie Stone, Ginuwine, Marvin Sapp and Ramsey Lewis will be honored at the 2021 Black Music Honors. The two-hour show will be taped at the City Winery in Nashville and televised in national syndication from June 5 to July 4. It will air on Bounce TV on Saturday, June 19 at 1 p.m. ET. (That date, not coincidentally, is Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S.)
All four of the artists being honored have been Black music stars for years, but among them, only Lewis has won a Grammy. (The R&B and jazz virtuoso has won three Grammys.) This demonstrates the need for a show like this to shine a light on stars who aren’t always given their due at other award shows.
Stone will receive the soul music icon award; Ginuwine, the urban music icon award; Sapp, the gospel music icon award; and Lewis, the legends award. The National Museum of African American Music in Nashville will be honored with the Legacy Award. The museum, established in 2019, showcases the musical genres inspired, created or influenced by African Americans.
Chicago-based television production company Central City Productions will present the show. This year marks the first time that the program, now in its sixth year, will air in June.
Don Jackson, the show’s founder and executive producer, said in a statement: “In addition to the amazing honorees and exciting performances this year, we are also announcing that the Black Music Honors will now be held in the month of June. This is an important time for our community as it is officially Black Music Month and our national holiday, Juneteenth. What better way to honor our legacy.”
Talk show host, comedienne and author Loni Love will host the special. Love won a 2018 daytime Emmy for outstanding entertainment talk show host as one of the co-hosts of The Real. “Now, more than ever, I think it is important to recognize the contributions that Black music has made to the country and the world,” Love said in a statement.
For more information visit BlackMusicHonors.com.
