By Mesfin Fedakdu, Music Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The late rap icon Notorious B.I.G will be honored at the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards later this month.
The performing rights organization said Thursday that the rapper will receive its ASCAP Founders Award on June 22 at The Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. It will be its 30th annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards.
The Notorious B.I.G, born Christopher Wallace in New York City, was shot to death in 1997. His mother, Voletta Wallace, his children, and his widow, R&B singer Faith Evans, will accept the award on his behalf.
The hip-hop legend was a powerhouse success in the '90s with albums like "Ready to Die" and "Life After Death." His hits include anthems like "Juicy," ''Big Poppa," ''Stay With Me," ''Hypnotize" and "Mo Money Mo Problems."
"Biggie was a legend in his own time and his legacy lives on through his music," said ASCAP President Paul Williams. "Like all songwriters, he was a master storyteller, but it was the realism in his rhymes that captured so many."
Last month Evans released a collaborative album with Notorious B.I.G called "The King and I."
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis will also be honored at the ASCAP event with the Voice of Music Award. The Grammy-winning songwriting duo, who will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this month, mostly notably have worked with Janet Jackson throughout her career. They have also crafted No. 1 hits for George Michael, Usher, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.
Past ASCAP Founders Award recipients include Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Carly Simon, Patti Smith and Paul McCartney.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More