Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut album Baduizm (1997), placed her at the forefront of the neo soul movement, earning her the nickname "Queen of Neo Soul" by music critics.
Baduizm is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. It was released on February 11, 1997, by Kedar Records and Universal Records. After leaving university in order to concentrate on music full-time, Badu then began touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, and recorded a 19-song demo, Country Cousins, which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg. He set Badu up to record a duet with D'Angelo, "Your Precious Love," and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal. Recording sessions for the album took place from January to October 1996 in New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas.
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Award for Best Song of the Year. The award was originally entitled Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Song of the Year and first awarded during the 1989 ceremony. It was later retitled to its current title in 1993, before being renamed again to R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year in 1995. The award was retired following the 1996 ceremony, seeing the separated categories for male, female and group artists returning in its place. The award returned in 2009, along with its current title.
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Award for Best Album of the Year. Originally entitled Best R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year, it was first awarded during the 1997 ceremony. It was renamed to its current title during the 2004 ceremony. During the years 2005 to 2008, the category was separated to award female, male and group albums separate awards.
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Award for Video of the Year. Originally entitled Best Music Video, the award has been retitled a further two times, including to The Michael Jackson Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video before being retitled again to its current title in 2013. Janet Jackson has won this award a record six times and Beyoncé is the only artist with multiple nominations in one year.
The 2009 Soul Train Music Awards were held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia on November 29, 2009. The show was hosted by Oscar nominated actor Terrence Howard and Oscar nominated actress Taraji P. Henson. Performers included Keri Hilson, Toni Braxton, Trey Songz, Mario, Raheem DeVaughn, Ludacris, Ryan Leslie, and Robin Thicke.
The 2015 Soul Train Music Awards was held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Centric and BET on November 29, 2015. Jill Scott was honored with Soul Train Awards' first ever Lady of Soul Award. The ceremony, hosted by Erykah Badu, honored artists in 12 different categories. American singer, songwriter and poet Jill Scott was honored with the Lady of Soul Award for her contributions to the music industry.
The 2016 Soul Train Music Awards was held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 6, 2016. It was later aired on Centric and BET on November 27, 2016. The ceremony, hosted by Erykah Badu for the second year in a row, honored artists in 12 different categories. Drake was the most nominated artist with twelve, followed by Beyoncé (10) and Rihanna (8). During the ceremony american singer and songwriter Brandy was honored with the Lady of Soul Award for her contributions to the music industry. Teddy Riley was recognized by the Legend Award for his successful songwriting and music producing works.
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Male Artist, which was first given in 2009. Trey Songz, Miguel, Maxwell, Bruno Mars and Chris Brown are the only artists to win the award twice.
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Female Artist, which was first given in 2009. Beyoncé holds the record of most wins in this category, with four.
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Award for Best Collaboration. This category was created in the 2009 ceremony and since its creation, Chris Brown is the only artist to win the award four times.
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Award for Best Dance Performance. This category was created during the 2010 ceremony and since its creation, Ciara and Chris Brown are the only artists to win the award thrice.
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Award for Best Gospel/Inspirational Song. The award was originally entitled Best Gospel Performance – Male, Female or Group and was created during the 2009 ceremony. It was later retitled to Best Gospel/Inspirational Performance in 2013 and then to its current title in 2014. Mary Mary and Lecrae are the only artists to win this award twice.
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Rhythm & Bars Award. Originally titled Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year, the award has been given since the 2010 ceremony. It was renamed to its current title in 2016. Cardi B and Drake are the acts with the most wins in this category, both winning twice.
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award. Also referred to as Record of the Year, this award was first given in 2009. John Legend currently holds the most awards in this category, with three, and Beyoncé holds the most nominations with nine.
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Soul Train Certified Award, formerly the Centric Award. The award has been given out since the 2009 ceremony.
The 2018 Soul Train Music Awards took place on November 17 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The ceremony aired on BET and BET Her on November 25, and was hosted by Tisha Campbell & Tichina Arnold, honoring artists in 12 different categories. During the award ceremony soul singer Erykah Badu was honored with the Legend Award while Faith Evans received the Lady of Soul Award for her contributions to the music industry.
Summer Marjani Walker is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Atlanta, she signed with the local record label Love Renaissance, an imprint of Interscope Records in late 2017. The following year, she released her debut commercial mixtape Last Day of Summer (2018), supported by its lead single, "Girls Need Love." The song became her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned a remix featuring Canadian rapper Drake. Her debut studio album, Over It (2019) was met with critical and commercial success, peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart—briefly breaking the record for the biggest debut streaming week for a female R&B artist—and receiving triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Bernarr Ferebee Jr., better known by his stage name Durand Bernarr, is an American singer-songwriter and producer. He frequently provides background vocals for neo-soul artist Erykah Badu and featured vocals for other artists such as Anderson .Paak, Kaytranada, and The Internet. In 2019, Bernarr was a runner-up on the BET reality music competition The Next Big Thing. He released his latest album Wanderlust in 2022. Bernarr earned a 2025 Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album nomination for the album En Route.
