'I Did it With All My Heart': Babyface's Emotional Journey to BMI Icon Status

Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for BMI

BMI celebrated the top talents in R&B and hip-hop during its 2024 R&B/Hip-Hop Awards on Thursday (Sept. 5) at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The star-studded event honored the producers and songwriters behind the year's 35 most-performed R&B and hip-hop songs, with 56 first-time winners taking home awards.

Babyface received the evening's top honor, the BMI Icon Award. A 13-time Grammy winner and prolific producer, Babyface has left his mark on multiple genres over five decades, amassing a total of 64 BMI Awards. He joins an elite list of past recipients, including Janet Jackson, Lil Wayne and Patti LaBelle.

His illustrious career was on full display as R&B and rap royalty paid tribute with performances of some of his most iconic songs. Mac Royals opened with "My My My," followed by Tamar Braxton's soulful rendition of "Superwoman." Mario closed the tribute with "I'll Make Love to You" and "Can We Talk" and rapper Lil Wayne honored Babyface as both a mentor and friend.

Congrats again to our #BMIIcon, @babyface! #BMIRNBHHAwards pic.twitter.com/2SUEHDvD40

— Broadcast Music Inc. (@bmi) September 6, 2024

In his acceptance speech, Babyface reflected, “I got here because I love music, and it was the one pure thing that I knew I could do, and I did it with all my heart.” He then surprised the crowd with a performance of his signature hit "Whip Appeal," drawing the audience to its feet.

With a career spanning five decades, Babyface has produced and written for artists like Toni Braxton, TLC, Usher, and Whitney Houston. His catalog, which includes classics such as "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men and "Take a Bow" by Madonna, has contributed to over 800 million records sold.

Thank you so much @bmi for honoring me last night 🥹🫶🏾💕 and thank you to all the amazing writers that have ever inspired me pic.twitter.com/z4joBQMWmf

— SZA (@sza) September 6, 2024

SZA, a four-time Grammy winner, made history as the first recipient of the BMI Champion Award, recognizing her boundary-pushing artistry and impact on songwriting. BMI’s Executive Vice President of Creative, Mike Steinberg, praised her “once-in-a-lifetime sound.”

SZA also won BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year for "Kill Bill," her first Billboard Hot 100 number one, which has over a billion streams on Spotify.

In her speech, SZA said, “Songwriting awards mean the most to me because when I started, I didn’t have anybody to write for me. I’m grateful to be honored today because so many songwriters here literally made me.”

Tay Keith was named Producer of the Year for the third time, recognized for hits like "First Person Shooter" by Drake featuring J. Cole. Other top producers honored included Metro Boomin, RIOTUSA, and Jahaan Sweet.

Universal Music Publishing won Publisher of the Year for representing 21 of the most-performed songs, including "Kill Bill," "Barbie World" and "Paint the Town Red."

The complete list of winners is pictured below.