Irving Azoff is set to receive the BMAC Icon Award from the Black Music Action Coalition at its fifth annual BMAC Gala taking place Thursday, Sept. 18, at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. Grammy-nominated country trailblazer Mickey Guyton and cultural curator Kenny Burns will co-host the event.
The BMAC also identified recipients of two awards that are named in memory of Black luminaries who have died since 2023. John Legend will receive the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award, while Sherrese Clarke of HarbourView Equity Partners will receive the BMAC Harry Belafonte Change Agent Award.
Two other awards that will be presented at the gala are the BMAC Social Impact Award, to Kai Cenat and Apple/Apple Music; and the BMAC 365 Award to Primary Wave Music.
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“This year’s honorees are not just innovators and changemakers; they are warriors for justice and visionaries of a future we refuse to stop fighting for,” said Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, co-founder/president/CEO of BMAC. “They have stood fearless and unapologetic on the frontlines, dismantling barriers, rewriting the rules, and protecting the voices that shape our culture. They are the living embodiment of BMAC’s mission: equity without compromise, economic justice without delay, and creative expression without fear. As we celebrate five years of impact, this Gala is not our victory lap, but our rallying point. The movement is alive, the mission is urgent, and history is watching.”
“I am truly honored to receive the Icon Award from the Black Music Action Coalition,” Azoff said in a statement. “The work BMAC is doing is increasingly vital — not only within the music industry but in our daily lives as well. Their relentless efforts to promote racial equality and justice have never been more important, serving as a beacon for diversity and inclusion across the industry and beyond. I am deeply grateful to BMAC for this meaningful recognition and proud to support their mission.”
“It’s an honor to be recognized by the Black Music Action Coalition, an organization that not only uplifts artists but fights for justice, equity, and lasting change in our industry and beyond,” Legend said in a statement. “Championing these causes has been central to my own journey, and to receive an award bearing my friend and mentor Quincy Jones’s name is deeply humbling. His legacy reminds us that music can be a force for joy, beauty, love and empowerment.”
“Harry Belafonte understood the transformative power of culture,” Clarke, founder/CEO of HarbourView Equity Partners, said in a statement. “To stand in his legacy and in his shadows, and to receive the Change Agent Award in his name, is an honor humbling beyond belief. It is truly my deepest desire, greatest hope, and highest ambition to live in his legacy and carry his mission forward.”
Since its founding shortly after Juneteenth 2020, BMAC has distributed more than $4 million in direct economic relief, reached more than 5,500 students and mentored more than 500 emerging music artists and industry professionals through its initiatives and pipeline programs.
BMAC has transformed advocacy into measurable impact by launching guaranteed income programs; building mentorship pipelines for emerging talent with cultural leaders like Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Victoria Monét, the Luther Vandross Foundation, the James Brown estate, the late Chubbie Baby and hip-hop superstar Gunna; and creating paid internships, jobs and industry access through its accelerator partnerships with such music companies as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Academy of Country Music, Live Nation and Rolling Loud.
BMAC also drives policy change to protect artists’ rights, defend creative expression and amplify marginalized voices in every corner of the industry. The organization’s legislative support includes the CREATE Art Act, the NO FAKES Act, the RAP Act and the recently passed HITS Act.
Previous BMAC Gala honorees include LL COOL J, Usher, H.E.R., Lil Baby, Lizzo, The Weeknd, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Trae The Truth, Sylvia Rhone, Aurora James, Nikole-Hannah Jones, BET, Keke Palmer, Jermaine Dupri, Jon Platt and The Recording Academy.
The 2025 BMAC Gala is produced by the BMAC board (Stiggers, Ashaunna Ayars, Caron Veazey, Naima Cochrane, Shay Lawson, Shawn Holiday and Damien Smith) alongside Donna Grecco for Primary Wave Music and Rikki Hughes for Magic Lemonade. The event is presented by Live Nation.