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The Recording Academy Honors and Black Music Collective will present Sylvia Rhone, Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott and Lil Wayne with the Recording Academy Global Impact Award at the Hollywood Palladium on February 2. 

"I am so thrilled to honor and celebrate these four giants in the music industry," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said. "Last year’s inaugural event was such a highlight during Grammy Week and now with Dre, Missy, Wayne and Sylvia there to pay tribute to this year, it's definitely going to be another night to remember. I continue to be proud of the work of our Black Music Collective as it's a vital part of what we do here at the Academy."

While most are aware of Dre, Elliott and Wayne's achievements in the music industry, some might not be up on Rhone. T

Dres was in his hometown of Queens where he'd just finished shooting a segment for a fashion blog. The busy Black Sheep legend seemed eager to talk about his upcoming endeavors, which includes a documentary about the late, great J Dilla. Speaking to ROCK THE BELLS, Dres revealed an exciting development about the project, one he's been working on for the past few years. 

"I was approached by a company called Versus to shoot a documentary about it,” he said. “We started filming. I went back to Puerto Rico and to Detroit to kick it with Dilla’s childhood friends and have conversations about Dilla. The project itself got green-lit by Paramount+.”

Unlike the rest of the Native Tongues, Dres didn't have a close relationship with J Dilla, but he's formed a speci

Gangsta Boo, real name Lola Mitchell, will be laid to rest on Saturday (January 14). According to WREG-Memphis, those wishing to attend can purchase tickets through Eventbrite. The service will be held at Brown Baptist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. local time and is open to the public. There will also be a Celebration of Life for Gangsta Boo on Friday (January 13) at Railgarten from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. 

Gangsta Boo was found deceased on the porch of her Whitehaven home on January 1, just 43 years old. While the Memphis Police Department is currently investigating her death, those close to Gangsta Boo are confident she succumbed to a drug overdose. The night before, New Year's Eve, Boo attended an 8Ball & MJG concert with her brother who was hospita

Slick Rick will be honored by The Recording Academy with a Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the 2023 Grammy Awards celebration. Trophies will be presented to all recipients during the Special Merit Award Ceremony on February 4 in Los Angeles.

"The Academy is proud to celebrate this diverse slate of influential music people spanning numerous genres and crafts as our 2023 Special Merit Awards honorees,” Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, explained. “Each creator on this list has made an impact on our industry — from technical to creative achievements — representing the breadth of music’s diverse community. We’re excited to celebrate this group of legends next month that continues to inspire and shape the music world.”

The "Children's Story"

The Sugarhill Gang, a group conceived by Sugar Hill Records' founder Sylvia Robinson, released "Rapper's Delight" in September 1979. Four months later, the song cracked the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, landing at No. 37. Subsequently, The Sugarhill Gang became the first rap group to have a Top 40 hit.

"I think we were in Europe when that happened," Wonder Mike tells RAPstation. "I flipped out. I didn’t know anything about charts, I just knew I loved music all my life. And I listened to everything from hard rock like Steppenwolf to the Temptations  to Iron Butterfly—everything.

"To be on the chart, I was like, 'Oh my god to be in the company of these people. At one point, it was us an

Black Sheep has reportedly filed a $750 million class action lawsuit against Universal Music Group over unpaid royalties. According to Rolling Stone, Dres and Mista Lawnge claim the label breached their contracts with a Spotify “sweetheart” deal. They say Universal accepted both cash and company stock from Spotify in exchange for music from Universal’s roster but then only counted the cash when it distributed royalty payments.

“In the mid-2000s, Universal struck an undisclosed, sweetheart deal with Spotify whereby Universal agreed to accept substantially lower royalty payments on artists’ behalf in exchange for equity stake in Spotify – then a fledgling streaming service," the docs read. "Yet rather than distribute to artists their 50 percent of Spotify stock