Lady of Soul Award
Award-winning singer/songwriter, actor, entrepreneur and author Ashanti has been tapped to receive the seventh annual Soul Train Lady of Soul Award. Among her numerous accolades, Ashanti has received several Soul Train Awards throughout her illustrious career, including R&B/Soul Album - Female, Independent R&B/Soul Performance, two awards for R&B/Soul Single - Female and the Lady of Soul Awards' Aretha Franklin Entertainer of the Year Award. Ashanti's expansive multiplatinum discography has brought her to the top of the charts, meriting eight Billboard awards and a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album ("Ashanti"). She was the first female to make Billboard history by having her first three chart entries land in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, a feat previously accomplished only by The Beatles. With a career that spans decades, Ashanti has established herself as a staple in music and will also receive a star on the infamous Hollywood Walk of Fame in April 2022.
Living Legend Award
Maxwell has artfully managed to transfix music lovers for more than two decades, releasing five studio albums, all in his own time, and all duly anointed as classics. The soul singer redefined soul music in April of 1996 when he released his critically acclaimed debut on Columbia Music, "Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite." It earned Grammy nominations, double-platinum status and RIAA gold for the single "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)." Platinum albums "Embrya" (1998) and "Maxwell Now" (2001) followed. After an eight-year break between album releases, "BLACKsummers'night" (2009) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and won two Grammy awards, including Best R&B Album. Maxwell has achieved four platinum album certifications from the RIAA. His album "blackSUMMERS'night," the second installment of his musical trilogy, earned Maxwell his third Grammy (Best R&B Song for "Lake by the Ocean"), an NAACP Image Award (Outstanding Male Artist) and a Soul Train Award (Best R&B/Soul Male Artist).