Black American Music Association To Honor Alicia Keys, Jimmy Jam And Terry Lewis In Morehouse Ceremony

The musical contributions of Alicia Keys, Grandmaster Flash, and renowned producer/songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis will be celebrated at the inaugural ICE Medal of Honor next month.

Organized by The Black American Music Association, the black-tie event will take place at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center inside Atlanta’s Morehouse College on Sunday, Oct. 15, Billboard reports. Keys will receive the Ella Fitzgerald Gold Standard Award; Grandmaster Flash will take home the Transformative Award; and Jam and Lewis will receive the Creative Impact Award.

Other honorees include the philanthropist and founder of the technology software private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, Robert F. Smith, who will receive the Ray Charles/Harry Belafonte Patron of Arts Award;
businesswoman and producer Suzanne de Passe, who will receive the trailblazer award that’s named in her honor; and Jeff Harleston, general counsel, executive vice president of business and legal affairs of Universal Music Group, who will receive the Pace/Harrell Executive Leadership Award.

Additionally, the late Michael Jackson will receive the Michael Jackson ICON Award.

“We are thrilled to launch the ICE Medal of Honor and to recognize these outstanding individuals who have made an enduring mark on the world through their art and creativity,” Michael Mauldin, The Black American Music Association’s founder, said.

“This celebration is a testament to the power of Black American music in shaping culture and inspiring generations.”

The Black American Music Association is a n-profit 501(c)(6) trade association founded in 2017 by Mauldin and Demmette Guidry to preserve, protect, and promote the legacy and future of Black American music.

Between Alicia Keys’ 15 Grammys, Jam and Lewis’ five, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s history-making success in hip-hop, the honorees are more than deserving of the accolades. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was the first hip-hop group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2021.

de Passe’s work with Motown Productions includes discovering The Jackson 5 and Commodores and winning Emmys for her production of Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1983) and Motown Returns to the Apollo (1985).