Veteran performer Chaka Khan and pioneering rap act A Tribe Called Quest will be honored Aug. 5 at the Billboard-American Urban Radio Networks R&B Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta. Recognizing their respective achievements in R&B and hip-hop, Khan and ATCQ will receive Founders Awards at the event.
“Music is my calling, and making a career of music has been a tremendous blessing to me,” Khan says. “I am grateful to Billboard for honoring me with their Founders Award. Feeling this kind of love and appreciation for my talent is truly humbling. After three decades in this business, I will accept the award with sincere gratitude, but I most want to be considered a woman with a gift who used it to bring joy into people’s lives and who continues to get joy from making music.”
“We are truly humbled by this award. We feel blessed to receive this much love,” A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife says. “Being consistent as well as consistently being ourselves is our legacy; never being afraid to fail or succeed or to try something new.” The group also includes Q-Tip and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad.
“We are thrilled to honor these musical innovators with our most prestigious award,” says Gail Mitchell, Billboard senior editor R&B/Hip-Hop. “The past five years have been a renaissance period for hip-hop and R&B. The success of these genres is a testament to the contributions made by A Tribe Called Quest and Chaka Khan.”
Honoring the genres’ most popular albums, songs, artists and contributors, the ceremony will close the Billboard-AURN R&B Hip-Hop Conference & Awards, set for Aug. 3-5 at Atlanta’s Intercontinental Hotel. For more a schedule of events, panelists and performers, visit BillboardEvents.com.
