Usher honored his mentor L.A. Reid with the icon award at the 6th annual Culture Creator Brunch. “Our honorees share in our collective experience that is sometimes met with doubt, frustration, and unnecessary complication,” says Culture Creators founder Joi Brown. “Yet we march on as a collective village that continues to produce excellence because experience has taught us that we don’t get to quit.”
She continued: “I didn’t know what Culture Creators was to become when I started, but I’m clear on where we’re headed.”
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This year, Usher presented Reid, a music industry veteran and mentor, with the Icon Award. L.A. Reid’s acceptance of the honor was preceded by a video montage, which included personal congratulatory remarks from the likes of Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, 21 Savage, DJ Khaled, and Jermaine Dupri, to name a few.
Guests were also treated to captivating performances by Amber Riley and host Coco Jones. Culture Creators also introduced three new awards that were given out on the red carpet, Community Advocate, Blog of the Year, and HBCU Rising Culture Creator.
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Presenting sponsor Netflix welcomed Culture Creators’ guests to a lush photo experience via the Strong Black Lead Portrait Studio. Empowered partner CÎROC treated guests to a number of curated specialty drinks like the DeLeón Blanco Pink Paloma, Summer Citrus Sunset, and a few of their summer spritzers during the immaculately designed post-show reception. Additional partners included Pivotal Ventures, Lexus, and Morgan Stanley.
2022 saw the event expand and evolved as it highlights the achievements of thought leaders, philanthropists, executives, entertainers, artists, and other pillars of African American culture in an intimate setting among key players.
In other news, Usher has a new single with City Girls slated for a July 1 release.
