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John P. Kee Honored at 2025 BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards

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BMI celebrated the best in gospel music on Wednesday (April 3) at the 2025 BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards held at Flourish in Atlanta. Gospel music pioneer and pastor John P. Kee was honored as a Trailblazer of Gospel Music in recognition of his artistry and influence on the genre throughout his career spanning more than 40 years.

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02/16/2023

The private was ceremony hosted by Mike O’Neill, BMI’s president & CEO, and Catherine Brewton, vp, creative, Atlanta.

Throughout the afternoon, BMI saluted the 25 most-performed gospel songs of the previous year, leading up to the presentation of the BMI Gospel Song of the Year award, which went to “Goodness of God” written by Ed Cash, Ben Fielding (APRA) and Jason Ingram. Performed by CeCe Winans, the hit logged four weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart and reached No. 2 on Hot Gospel Songs. The soulful ballad was Winans’ fourth No. 1 on the Gospel Airplay chart.

Kirk Franklin and Charles Jenkins tied as BMI’s Gospel Songwriter of the Year for each writing two of the most-performed gospel songs of the previous year. Franklin was honored for “All Things” and “Try Love,” giving him his fourth Songwriter of the Year award – three for gospel and one for Christian. Jenkins was recognized for his songs “God Be Praised” and “Look at God,” marking the first time he’s received this title. This brings his total of BMI Awards to eight.

BMI’s Gospel Publisher of the Year went to Capitol CMG for having the highest publisher share percentage of the top 25 songs, including BMI’s Gospel Song of the Year, “Goodness of God.”

As a Trailblazer of Gospel Music, Kee was honored for his signature blend of traditional and contemporary gospel music. O’Neill presented Kee with the honor, saluting his “extraordinary contributions that have greatly influenced the gospel genre and deeply touched the community.”

The musical tributes to Kee kicked off with Lena Byrd Miles performing “Yes Lord,” followed by Chrystal Rucker’s performance of “The Anointing.” The tributes continued with Kelontae Gavin singing “Never Shall Forget” and Jekalyn Carr performing “Standing in the Need.” Lisa Knowles-Smith and her children KJ and Ndia paid homage to Kee with renditions of “Lily in the Valley” and “He’ll Welcome Me.” Vanessa Bell Armstrong followed with “Wave It Away,” featuring Donald Lawrence and The Company. Zacardi Cortez ended the tribute with an uplifting performance of “Jesus is Real.”

Upon receiving the honor, Kee, known as the “Prince of Gospel,” thanked his family and friends, many of whom were in the room, for their love and support. “Every time you win an award, I win an award,” he said. “I’m just a proud Uncle John.” He went on to say that he was going to “flip the moment” by presenting BMI’s Brewton with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her “vision and determination that have paved the way for future generations of women in business.”

The ceremony concluded with Kee singing the opening line to his hit, “New Life” and he was joined with an impromptu celebration from many of the gospel greats in the room, including Isaac Carree, Zacardi Cortez, Eric Dawkins, Kirk Franklin, Jonathan McReynolds, Tasha Page-Lockhart, Lisa Page Brooks and Marvin Sapp.

Visit BMI’s website to see a full list of BMI’s Trailblazers of Gospel Music Award honorees.

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Jelly Roll Brings Grit & Heart to In-Ring Debut at WWE SummerSlam 2025

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Jelly Roll made his WWE in-ring debut this weekend, and teamed up with Randy Orton to battle Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul at SummerSlam 2025. Jelly didn’t disappoint, as the brute country force rattled McIntyre and Paul with a series of slams and elbow drops, before ultimately falling short in his Saturday night (Aug. 2) WWE match.

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Ahead of the match, Jelly introduced tag partner Orton and performed his entrance theme song, “Voices,” electrifying the MetLife Stadium crowd in East Rutherford, N.J.

Kicking off the match against Paul, Jelly impressed early. Not only did he deliver some offense, including an impressive shoulder tackle on Paul, but he absorbed a flurry of attacks. The defining moment came when Paul sent Jelly crashing through the announcer’s table with a high-flying splash. Despite the setback, a hobbled Jelly Roll delivered a clinical performance: first chokeslamming Paul before issuing a punishing bodyslam. But Paul had the last laugh, connecting with a frog splash and scoring the 1-2-3.

Jelly, a lifelong wrestling fan, trained rigorously at WWE’s Performance Center ahead of his match, which contributed to his 230-pound weight loss.

“This is about belief — believing in myself — and wanting to selfishly be a part of a beautiful moment,” Jelly said earlier this week in an interview with WWE’s Jackie Redmond. “I love this business. I just wanna bring value. I’m not here to take nothing away. I’m not here to take nobody’s spot. I want to bring value. I think this is one of the greatest ages of storytelling I’ve seen in wrestling this decade.”

See clips of Jelly’s SummerSlam in-ring debut below.

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Jerry Garcia Has Childhood Street Named for Him in San Francisco

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A few hundred people gathered Friday (Aug. 1) to name a tiny San Francisco street after legendary Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia on what would have been his 83rd birthday, and as part of a citywide celebration to mark the band’s 60th anniversary.

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Harrington Street, which is one block long, will also be called “Jerry Garcia Street.” Garcia died in 1995, but the band’s popularity has only grown as younger generations discover the Dead’s improvisational music, which blended rock, blues, folk and other styles.

Garcia spent part of his childhood in a modest home in the city’s diverse Excelsior neighborhood. He lived with his grandparents after the death of his father, Jose Ramon “Joe” Garcia.

“I hope that you all get a chance to enjoy the music, dance, hug, smile,” said daughter Trixie Garcia, growing emotional during her brief remarks. “Cherish what’s valuable, what’s significant in life.”

Tens of thousands of fans are in San Francisco to commemorate the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary with concerts and other activities throughout the city.

The latest iteration of the band, Dead & Company, with original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, play Golden Gate Park’s Polo Field for three days this weekend (beginning with Friday’s show), with an estimated 60,000 attendees expected each day.

Formed in 1965, the Grateful Dead played often and for free in their early years while living in a cheap Victorian home in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. The band later became a significant part of 1967’s Summer of Love, and the Grateful Dead has become synonymous with San Francisco and its bohemian counterculture.

On Friday, fans in rainbow tie-dye and Grateful Dead T-shirts whooped and cheered as the sign was unveiled. Nonfans with shopping bags and some using walking canes maneuvered around the crowd on what was for them just another foggy day in the working-class neighborhood.

Afterward, devotees peeled off to pose for photos in front of Garcia’s childhood home.

Jared Yankee, 23, got the crowd to join him in singing “Happy Birthday.” Yankee said he flew in from Rhode Island for the shows. He got into the music about a decade ago.

“It’s a human thing,” he said of his impromptu singing. “I figure everyone knows the words to ‘Happy Birthday.’”

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Fans Choose Mariah The Scientist & Kali Uchis’ ‘Is It a Crime’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

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“Is It a Crime,” the new duet from Mariah The Scientist and Kali Uchis, tops this week’s fan-voted music poll.

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Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Aug. 1) on Billboard, choosing the pair’s fresh collaboration as their favorite new release of the past week.

“Is It a Crime” rose above a plethora of new releases — among them, songs from hitmakers like Demi Lovato, Chappell Roan, Reneé Rapp and more. Mariah and Kali’s collab track topped the poll by a landslide, bringing in more than 57% of the vote.

“Is It a Crime,” a slow jam that has the two artists singing about the return of a past love — and defending the relationship if anyone’s got anything to say about it — dropped on July 31, with spicy, jail-themed single art. (“very intentional, very grown woman,” Uchis commented of their shoot on Instagram.)

The chorus of the song says it all: “And so what? I fell, you fell in love a couple times/ Tell me, what’s it to ya? Tell me, is it a crime/ To fall, to fall in love, in love a couple times?/ Tell me, what’s it to ya? Tell me, is it a crime to fall?”

Among the new releases trailing behind “Is It a Crime” on this week’s poll are Demi Lovato’s “Fast,” coming in with 17% of the vote; Chappell Roan’s “The Subway,” with 16% of the vote, and Reneé Rapp’s “Bite Me,” with 2% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s poll below.

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