Social Star Competition Returns for the 2018 BMI R&B Hip Hop Awards

BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) is pleased to announce the return of its annual Social Star competition as part of the 2018 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards. Beginning Friday, August 17th, Atlanta-based rappers Gunna and Derez De'Shon will compete to see who has the most engaged social media audience, culminating with the presentation of the Social Star Award during the ceremony. As previously announced, multiplatinum superstar Janet Jackson will be named a BMI Icon at the private event held Thursday, August 30th, at The Woodruff Arts Center's Symphony Hall in Atlanta.

Fans can vote for their favorite songwriter and social media personality across BMI's Instagram and Twitter accounts to determine who will receive the coveted title. The contender with the most Instagram likes and use of their specialized Twitter hashtag will be crowned BMI's Social Star. Previous winners have included Mac Miller, Machine Gun Kelly, Zendaya, SoMo, Joey Bada$$ and Kashdoll. Voting closes Friday, August 24 at 11:59pm. Click here for more information on voting and the contestants.

BMI President & CEO Mike O'Neill and BMI Vice President Creative (Atlanta), Catherine Brewton will host the ceremony, with Lifestyle Specialist Kenny Burns as co-host. The evening will also salute the songwriters, producers, publishers and administrators of the past year's 35 most-performed R&B/Hip-Hop songs in the United States from BMI's repertoire of more than 13 million musical works. The BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter, Producer and Publisher of the Year will be named during the ceremony.

For more information on the BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, visit https://www.bmi.com/genres/rb_hiphop and to join the conversation, use #BMIRnBHHAwards.

ABOUT THE 2018 BMI SOCIAL STAR NOMINEES:

GUNNA: After forming a friendship with rapper Young Thug, the College Park, Georgia-based rhymer Gunna was in the studio hopping on Thug's track "Floyd Mayweather," where he versed alongside rap superstars Gucci Mane and Travis Scott. Now on Young Thug's YSL imprint, he has released the Drip Season mixtape (2016), followed by Drip Season 2 (2017) and Drip or Drown, a collab EP with producer Wheezy in 2017. Hailed by The Fader as "Atlanta's most promising young motivator," Gunna's latest release Drip Season 3 is currently climbing the charts.

#VoteGUNNA

Twitter: @1GunnaGunna Instagram: @gunna

DEREZ DE'SHON: With the release of his two singles, "Ambition" and "Hardaway," the Southside Atlanta native quietly had one of the most successful runs of any underground artist in his hometown this year. Both singles played in heavy rotation on the club scene and "Hardaway" caught the interest of Power 105's DJ Envy who brought De'Shon to Commission Music, home to artists like Madeintyo, Lil Dicky, and 24hrs. In August of this year, De'Shon released his mixtape, Pain, offering a combination of cutting bars and heartfelt melodies about the challenges of growing up on Atlanta's Southside and his plans to build a better future for not only himself, but for the people in his life that are depending on him to succeed.

#VoteDerez

Twitter: @DerezDeShon Instagram: @derezdeshon

ABOUT BMI:

Celebrating over 77 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI®) is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in nearly 13 million musical works created and owned by more than 800,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI's repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit bmi.com, follow us on Twitter @BMI or stay connected through Broadcast Music, Inc.'s Facebook page. Sign up for BMI's The Weekly™ and receive our e-newsletter every Monday to stay up to date on all things music.

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