Usher paid tribute to the male role models in his life at the 2024 Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) Gala, held Thursday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
“As a kid, I was given this very strange and awkward name because I had never met another Usher, so it was a little bit complicated, but the unfortunate reality is that I was given this name by a man who never introduced himself, who was never there to help me make sense of it, to help me understand it, to give me some kind of reference to what this name means, where it came from, and what it could potentially be,” said Usher, who received the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award while busting out a few dance moves to Bobby Brown's “Don't Be Cruel” as it played in the background.
The award was presented to Usher by Brown, one of several figures the singer credits with shaping his definition of a man, a father and an entertainer, including his brother James, who was sitting in the audience, actor and activist Harry Belafonte and even Jones, for whom the award is named.
Telling the story of saving up to buy a Bobby Brown cassette tape as a kid, Usher recalled how his mother wondered if that was how he wanted to spend the little money he had. “I'm making an investment in my future, that's what I thought,” Usher said. “And if I can save this money and get this cassette, there's a light there because maybe I can define myself or what this name Usher means if I can be more like Bobby Brown.”
Usher later recounted his experience of first meeting the “King of R&B” at age 12 or 13, saying, “He knew me before any of you knew me… I'm grateful for the investment in my dream because if you really believe in it, you can do it. I just encourage every single person here to continue to invest in others because it really matters. There might be a kid with a weird name who just needs someone to push him, who needs someone to believe in him, who needs someone to encourage him to find his way to his passion.”
The fourth annual BMAC Gala, hosted by entrepreneur and media personality Kenny Burns, kicked off with DJ Mars playing songs by three recently deceased black artists: Fatman Scoop, Tito Jackson, and Rich Homie Quan. Anthony Hamilton and The Ton3s would then perform a musical tribute to Frankie Beverly of the funk band Maze, who passed away on September 10. BJ the Chicago Kid then performed the black national anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before an auction began in support of the BMAC. Usher was the night's highest bidder, spending $7,000 on a synthesizer signed by producer Jimmy Jam and another $30,000 on the yellow sunglasses worn by James Brown during his infamous CNN interview on April 4, 1988. Flava Flav then auctioned off his diamond watch for another $15,000.
The night’s top honors went to Live Nation, which received the BMAC 365 Award, followed by BeyGood Executive Director Ivy McGregor, who received the BMAC Change Agent Award. Atlanta rapper Gunna also received a commemoration for his BMAC 30349 Guaranteed Income Program, which provides a $1,000 monthly stipend to families in his hometown of South Fulton, Georgia; while BET Media Group executives Scott Mills (president and CEO), Louis Carr (president, media sales), Constance Orlando (executive vice president of specials, music programming and music strategy) and Kimberly Paige (executive vice president and CMO) received the BMAC Social Impact Award presented by Taraji P. Henson.
“What I want you to know is that representation matters,” Henson told the audience that included Kelly Rowland and Evan Ross. “As a little girl, as a dreamer, not seeing representation on TV didn’t allow me to dream. When BET came along, I saw a place for me here. And 360, look at that, my production deal is now with BET.”
BMAC CEO and President Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, Fat Joe and LL Cool J
Getty Images
LL Cool J received the other major award of the evening, the Clarence Avant Trailblazer Award, presented to him by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump.
“We sat next to each other at a Viacom dinner where I gave a speech about unity and diversity and LL leaned over to me and said, ‘Lawyer Crump, you don’t know how much impact you have on culture; you don’t know how much impact you have on society,’” Crump began. “Well, tonight, in front of a panel of your peers at the Black Music Action Coalition Gala, I say to you, LL Cool J, you don’t know how much impact you’ve had on culture.”
Taking the stage to accept the award, LL Cool J spoke about the latest chapter in his 40-year career. “One of the things that was really important to me when I went on this new journey and decided to make a new album, the only reason I did it is because I love it, but secondly, I just felt tired of people thinking that hip-hop culture in general and our music as a whole is disposable,” he said. “We’ve kind of been raised as a culture to believe that if an artist goes away for a weekend, goes on vacation for 15 days, their career is over. Why?”
Debunking that myth through his longevity, LL Cool J later added, “At the end of the day, I just want you to know that you have to keep believing in the beauty of your dreams. You don't have to snub yourself, clown around and become someone else to get where you're trying to get to. Just be yourself. People will respect you a lot more if you're yourself.”