Vibe.com, June 11th, 2004
The star-studded event honoring the best of R&B; and Hip Hop music will mark the fourth annual Billboard awards show dedicated to these genres. The ceremony will be held on Friday, August 6 at Barton G (formally Billboardlive) in Miami Beach. The gala event will conclude the Billboard-AURN R&B;/Hip Hop Conference.
Now in its fifth year, the conference, which runs from August 4-6 at the Eden Roc Resort in Miami Beach, is the most high-powered networking R&B;/Hip Hop gathering of the year. Billboard is teaming up with American Urban Radio Networks (AURN) to provide national coverage of the Conference & Awards to more than 475 radio stations.
The Billboard R&B;/Hip Hop Awards honor the genres' most popular albums, songs, artists, and contributors, as determined by the actual sales data from Nielsen SoundScan and radio airplay information from Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems that informs Billboard's weekly charts.
Finalists, and the eventual winners, reflect performance of recordings on Billboard's R&B;/Hip Hop and Rap charts during a one-year period from the from the May 31, 2003 issue of Billboard through the May 22, 2004 issue.
Following is list of the finalists for the 2004 Billboard R&B;/Hip Hop Awards.
TOP R&B;/HIP HOP ALBUMS Dangerously In Love * Beyonce * Columbia/Sony Music The Black Album * Jay-Z * Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/IDJMG The Diary Of Alicia Keys * Alicia Keys * J/RMG Speakerboxxx/The Love Below * Outkast * LaFace/Zomba
TOP R&B;/HIP HOP SINGLES Step In The Name Of Love * R. Kelly * Jive/Zomba Get Low * Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz Feat. Ying Yang Twins * BME/TVT The Way You Move * Outkast Featuring Sleepy Brown * LaFace/Zomba Damn! * YoungbloodZ Feat. Lil Jon * So So Def/Zomba
TOP R&B;/HIP HOP ARTISTS Beyonce * Columbia/Sony Music Jay-Z * Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/IDJMG R. Kelly * Jive/Zomba Alicia Keys * J/RMG
TOP R&B;/HIP HOP ARTISTS - MALE Chingy * Disturbing Tha Peace/Capitol Jay-Z * Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/IDJMG R. Kelly * Jive/Zomba Ludacris * Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam South/IDJMG
TOP R&B;/HIP HOP ARTISTS - FEMALE Ashanti * Murder Inc./Def Jam/IDJMG Beyonce * Columbia/Sony Music Alicia Keys * J/RMG Monica * J/RMG
TOP R&B;/HIP HOP ARTISTS - DUO OR GROUP G-Unit * G-Unit/Interscope Jagged Edge * Columbia/Sony Music Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz * BME/TVT Outkast * LaFace/Zomba
TOP R&B;/HIP HOP ARTISTS - NEW Beyonce * Columbia/Sony Music Chingy * Disturbing Tha Peace/Capitol Ruben Studdard * J/RMG Kanye West * Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/IDJMG
TOP R&B;/HIP HOP SINGLES ARTIST Beyonce * Columbia/Sony Music Jay-Z * Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/IDJMG R. Kelly * Jive/Zomba Ludacris * Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam South/IDJMG
TOP R&B;/HIP HOP ALBUMS ARTIST Jay-Z * Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/IDJMG R. Kelly * Jive/Zomba Alicia Keys * J/RMG Outkast * LaFace/Zomba
TOP RAP ALBUMS Jackpot * Chingy * Disturbing Tha Peace/Capitol Beg For Mercy * G-Unit * G-Unit/Interscope The Black Album * Jay-Z * Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/IDJMG Speakerboxxx/The Love Below * Outkast * LaFace/Zomba
TOP R&B;/ HIP HOP SINGLES - SALES Superstar/Flying Without Wings * Ruben Studdard * J/RMG Walked Outta Heaven * Jagged Edge * Columbia/SUM Let's Get Down * Bow Wow Feat.Baby * Columbia/SUM F**k It (I Don't Want You Back) * Eamon * Jive/Zomba
TOP R&B;/ HIP HOP SINGLES - AIRPLAY Step In The Name Of Love * R. Kelly * Jive/Zomba You Don't Even Know My Name * Alicia Keys * J/RMG Get Low * Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz Feat. Ying Yang Twins * BME/TVT Damn! * YoungbloodZ Feat. Lil Jon * So So Def/Zomba
HOT RAP TRACKS Right Thurr * Chingy * Disturbing Tha Peace/Capitol Get Low * Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz Feat. Ying Yang Twins * BME/TVT Stand Up * Ludacris Feat. Shawnna * Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam South/IDJMG Damn! * YoungbloodZ Feat. Lil Jon * So So Def/Zomba
TOP SONGWRITERS Christopher Bridges Shawn Carter Robert Kelly Kanye West
TOP PRODUCERS Robert Kelly The Neptunes Jonathan "Lil' Jon" Smith Kanye West
TOP MAJOR LABEL Interscope Island Def Jam Music Group Sony Music Universal Motown Records Group
TOP INDEPENDENT LABEL D.P.G. Koch TVT VP
For more information on the Billboard-AURN R&B;/Hip Hop Conference & Awards, visit billboardevents.com.
