After gracing the red carpet, honorees Kelly Rowland, Sylvia Rhone and all of their supporters took the festivities into the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles, California ( February 8 ). Inside, MC Lyte, who is the President of the Los Angeles chapter of the GRAMMYs Recording Academy – showed off her DJ’ing skills and eventually introduced music veteran Sylvia Rhone. Prior to her acceptance speech, a reel was played highlighting her accomplishments and milestones while being a mover and shaker in the industry. Upon receiving her award, she thanked her mentor/colleague Doug Morris and the late Soul Train creator/host, Don Cornelius:
“I owe thanks to a lot of people for this honor. There’s one person who I wish was here. Someone who supported and inspired me, a visionary, an icon of our culture, a very, very close friend. Words cannot say how much I owe and will miss Don Cornelius.”
Kelly Rowland hit the stage next and performed snippets of songs from her Destiny’s Child days like “Independent Women (Part 1)” and “Survivor,” then sang some of her solo career singles like “Dilemma” & “When Love Takes Over.” Producer Rico Love presented her with a plaque for selling over 1 million digital downloads of the collaborated single, “Motivation.”
Check the gallery down below, as well as a video of Kelly performing “Like This” with rapper, Eve.
