Southern Entertainment Awards fete rising stars of rap scene

The Southern Entertainment Awards helped Memphis rapper Yo Gotti blossom into a major artist.

The Oscars won’t be the only awards handed out Sunday.

While Hollywood’s elite gather at Los Angeles’ Kodak Theater to honor the best in film, the hottest emerging hip-hop talent in the South — deejays, producers, rappers — will be on display at the Cannon Center Downtown, including, possibly, Memphis’ own Academy Award winners.

“Three 6 Mafia should be in town on Saturday,” says Nashville-based producer Janiro Hawkins, who with his partners, Jesse Johnson (DJ Infamous) and Brent Buford (DJ Outlaw), organizes the annual Southern Entertainment Awards. “Depending on what their schedule is like, they’ll probably want to do something as well.”

The Southern Entertainment Awards helped Memphis rapper Yo Gotti blossom into a major artist.

Going into their seventh year, the Southern Entertainment Awards have become the premier event for recognizing achievement in Southern hip-hop. The event started in Nashville in 2004 with about 750 attendees. For the past four years, the event has been held at the Grand Casino in Tunica. This year the show makes the leap to Memphis and the largest venue in its history.

Hawkins says he and his partners started the awards show initially to highlight the rising importance of deejays in the music scene, but since then it has grown in purpose to champion a music scene that too often gets lost in between the coasts.

“I’ve always been drawn to the culture, the heritage and music of the South itself,” says Hawkins, who lived in Flint, Mich., as a child before moving to Nashville to live with his father. “The Midwest is the Midwest, and the East Coast has their’s, and the West Coast has their’s. But when you look at the South, it gets in you and it just grows. Southern music has had a stronghold on music for a long time. A lot of people don’t want to admit that, and they try to stop it. But I don’t think it can be (stopped). ”

The show hands out awards in 84 categories covering almost every aspect of the craft, including Female DJ of the Year, Best Intro On a Mixtape, and Beat of the Year, as well as honoring the best in radio, journalism, clubs, and even fashion. Nominees are submitted and voted on by the general public through the awards’ Web site, southernentawards.com.

Though, theoretically, any Southern artist is eligible to be nominated, an emphasis on emerging and independent talent means you’re unlikely to find Ludacris or Lil Wayne on the Southern Entertainment Awards ballot. Instead, the Southern Entertainment Awards are about finding and promoting the next big thing.

“It’s something that people want to get as they advance in their career,”’ says Hawkins, citing Memphis rapper Yo Gotti as the model for how the awards can be a stepping stone. “He’s a perfect example. He’s been nominated almost every year. Four years ago, if you were outside of this Tennessee area, you probably didn’t know who Yo Gotti was, but he had a big buzz in the streets. Now he’s a major artist, but he’s still independent.”

Yo Gotti is nominated for nine awards this year, including Indy Artist of the Year. In addition, he and Jackson, Miss., rapper Kamikaze will receive the special Key To the City Award. DJ Bryant D, The Bigg DM, Boogaloo, DJ Judge Mental and DJ Howard Q will all receive the Impact Award recognizing lasting influence. Tributes to recently deceased artists Lil Buna and Victoria Smith also are planned.

Memphians Kia Shine and Drumma Boy & the Drum Squad, Finess da Boss and Malaki from Nashville; Texas’ Sparkdawg and Florida R&B singer Skai are among the artists scheduled to perform.

In addition to the awards show, organizers will hold the SEA Entertainment & Music Industry Conference on Friday and Saturday at the Cook Convention Center, with industry panels, showcases and a benefit fashion show. More information, including a conference schedule, is available on the awards show Web site.

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