The Underground Music Awards is making its seventh return as the fireworks are set to start going off August 23. Hosted by Urban Threshold, the event will be showcased at the Famous BB Kings Concert Hall in Times Square, New York City.
Last year the event was hosted by Slick Rick and GrandMaster Flash and featured such upstart MCs as Donny Goines, Red Café and Mickey Factz.
Geared towards indie artists, this awards ceremony has been dubbed as being the largest awards show that takes place in commemoration for the Hip-Hop heads that take their musical endeavors out the hands of major labels and invest in themselves independently. This goes to show that all work, no matter how much coverage is given, is unappreciated.
Old school and new school have been honored at this event in prior years with legends such as Slick Rick, GrandMaster Flash, Kid Capri, Marley Marl and up and comers such as Serius Jones, Joell Ortiz and Saigon.
Just like the underground artist on the come up, this awards show is also unconventional and breaks the general rules that have been set by premier awards shows. The sole purpose of this event is to acknowledge unsigned artists and underground artists for their contributions to the urban scene of music unlike things such as the Grammy Awards, the Billboard Music Awards or even BET award shows.
The overall theme is blending as DJs, artists, fans, media outlets and music professionals are all brought to the same venue in order to network and build relationships past the closing of the event. Think of it as an awards show mixed with a Hip-Hop Summit or round-table.
Performances featured include DMC from Run DMC, Freeway and more. Click here for more information.
Also, checkout footage from last year’s event.
