Spirits were high at the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul department’s second annual Grammy brunch on Feb. 12 at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood, Calif., where musical acts, producers, songwriters and publishing execs gathered to celebrate their numerous Grammy nods this year. Overlooking a gorgeous balcony view of sunny Los Angeles, attendees mixed and mingled while enjoying mimosas and delicious food (not to mention endless amounts of Red Bull, which was a sponsor of the brunch along with Blackberry and SunTrust). Everyone enjoyed a nice big meal before the real partying starts Saturday and Sunday nights. Check below for some of the brunch’s highlights.
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 Grammy-winning Norwegian production duo Stargate — who’ve turned out numerous hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 — sip mimosas with their manager, Tim Blacksmith (second from left), and producer/remixer Dwayne “Supa Dips” Chin-Quee (far left), who is up for a Grammy this year for his work on Eminem’s album “Recovery.” And peeking in the background in the orange shirt is songwriter Thaddius “Kuk” Harrell, who is also up for multiple Grammy Awards this year. Stargate tells Billboard that they’ve recently been working on new music for Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Wiz Khalifa and newcomer Alexis Jordan, among others. Chin-Quee, meanwhile, has been working on tunes for Melanie Fiona and Akon, to name a few. (Photo: Mitchell Peters) |
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 After finishing his strut down the event’s red carpet, R&B recording artist Jaheim Hoagland, nominated this year for Best R&B song (“Finding My Way Back”) and Best R&B Album (“Another Round”), told Billboard about the moment he first found out about the Grammy nods from his attorney. “I was cooking chicken tamales!” he said. And in case you’re wondering, the tamales turned out great, he says. Hoagland has a lot on his plate these days. Aside from his plans to relocate from New Jersey to Los Angeles, the artist is planning to release a new album this summer. He describes the new music as very “classic” and “soulful.” Additionally, he recently finished recording a duet with Ledisi (called “Let’s Stay Together”) that could appear on her next album. “People are going to jump on that record,” he says, noting that the track has a Teddy Pendergrass vibe to it. (Photo: Mitchell Peters) |
 We hated to interrupt their delicious meal, but Billboard couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a quick snapshot of Drake’s attorney, Chris Taylor, and his wife, Margaret Jurocko. Taylor was lookin’ pretty cool with his shades on throughout most of the brunch, but kindly removed them for his meal. The couple attended Drake’s concert last night (Feb. 10) in San Bernardino, Calif., where Billboard.com news editor Monica Herrera chatted it up with the rapper about his four 2011 Grammy nominations, including one for Best New Artist (See video here: https://www.billboard.com/#/features/drake-grammys-q-a-2-11-at-2pm-et-1005026122.story). In addition to his role as an entertainment and media lawyer, Taylor runs the indie label Last Gang Records. (Photo: Mitchell Peters) |
 Adelio Lombardi, who manages DJ Frank E (co-producer of the Grammy-nominated song “Airplanes,” by B.o.B.), can’t get enough of that Red Bull. Lombardi and Brandon Kitchen, who serves as associate director of membership in ASCAP’s Rhythm & Soul Department, discuss the difficulties of finding office space in Los Angeles. The Denver-based manager is looking for some new digs on the West Coast but jokes about whether he can keep his sanity with all the traffic. The conversation also touched on how DJ Frank E — who is working on music with Akon, Pitbull and Jason Derulo — came down with a mean case of pinkeye and won’t be able to attend Sunday’s Grammy show. That stuff is no joke. Get better, Frank E. (Photo: Mitchell Peters) |
 Producer Chuck Harmony (left) gets in some good face time with ASCAP senior VP of marketing Lauren Iossa and veteran publicist Chris Chambers, whose PR company the Chamber Group, handled press for the brunch. Harmony recently worked with Fantasia on her song “Bittersweet,” which is up from a Grammy honor. (Photo: Mitchell Peters) |
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