T-Pain Honored with BMI President’s Award

The 2025 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, held at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, celebrated the industry’s top talents. Among the honorees, T-Pain received the prestigious BMI President’s Award, the evening’s highest honor, recognizing his significant contributions to music. GloRilla was also a major honoree, receiving the BMI Impact Award and sharing the title of BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter of the Year.

T-Pain’s Illustrious Career and Acceptance Speech

T-Pain, a consistent presence in the music industry since joining BMI in 2005, has amassed an impressive 28 BMI Awards, including three BMI Songwriter of the Year awards and recognition as BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Producer of the Year. During his acceptance speech for the President’s Award, T-Pain shared words of wisdom: “Every journey has a beginning, a middle and an end…. Don’t let anyone dictate your time or how fast you get to the finish line. Let yourself be your own time measurement.”

This latest accolade adds to T-Pain’s extensive collection of honors, which includes multiple GRAMMY Awards, BET Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and more. He joins a distinguished list of previous President’s Award recipients, such as Benny Blanco, Luis Fonsi, Taylor Swift, and Imagine Dragons.

GloRilla’s Impact and Songwriter Accolades

GloRilla received the BMI Impact Award for her role in “leading the way for female hip-hop artists” and her inspiring talent that influences the future of music. Her acceptance speech encouraged aspiring artists to “keep your foot on the gas” and ignore doubters, stating, “don’t let anyone tell y’all what you can’t do because a lot of people told me what I can’t do.”

Since joining BMI in 2019, GloRilla has earned five BMI Awards and multiple GRAMMY nominations, solidifying her status as a premier rapper. She also shared the BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter of the Year title with Mike Dean and Tay Keith, each co-writing three of the year’s most performed songs. GloRilla’s contributions included “TGIF,” “Wanna Be,” and “Yeah Glo!;” Mike Dean was recognized for “One Of The Girls,” “Popular,” and “Type Sh*t;” and Tay Keith for “First Person Shooter,” “Get It Sexyy,” and “MELTDOWN.”

Recognizing Top Talent in R&B/Hip-Hop

The ceremony also honored the top producers and songwriters behind the year’s 35 most-performed R&B/Hip-Hop songs. Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” was named BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Song of the Year. The hit track, co-written by Lamar, the late Ray Charles, Sean Momberger, and Sounwave, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and became the longest-charting rap song in chart history.

Sounwave was named BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Producer of the Year for his extensive work, including collaborations with Kendrick Lamar on hits like “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA,” as well as producing “Not Like Us.” He also has production credits on projects by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Carter Lang, Metro Boomin, Sean Momberger, and MTech were also recognized as top producers. Sony Music Publishing received the BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Publisher of the Year award for representing 23 of the most-performed songs.