Urban One Honors Highlights The Best In Black Excellence

Source: Getty Images for Urban One Honors / Getty

The annual Urban One Honors award show celebrates the culture’s movers and shakers. This year’s theme “Urban One Honors: Icons of the Culture” honored the likes of LL Cool J, Bobby Brown and Pharrell, David Mann and Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

Hosted by Tank, the show aired on MLK Day. Our sister site Bossip spoke to the handsome host on the red carpet where he praised Urban One founder Cathy Hugjes and reflected on hearing his song I Deserve on the radio for the first time.

“I remember hearing “Maybe I Deserve” on the radio while in a van traveling through the bible belt with my band, the backup singers, the whole crew. We were in a van going city to city and I’m in the very back of the van and it comes on…everyone turns around and looks at me and says; “It’s on the radio!’” One of the best moments ever, it just started from there. That was the year 2000 and here we are [today].”

Congresswoman Maxine Waters was equally as honored to be apart of the festivities. “I’m very excited to be here and really honored to have been chosen for this lifetime achievement award,” she told BOSSIP. “It doesn’t get any better than this. Of course, we get recognized here and there but nothing like this—this is the big one.”

She added, “I’m here to not only receive this award but I wanna make a tribute to Cathy Hughes who created all of this. She’s a brilliant, successful woman, an icon who shows us how to achieve success. She’s done all of that, so thank you, Cathy Hughes!”

Keep scrolling for looks from the Urban One red carpet.