Killer Mike earns Billboard Award
NEW YORK (AP) — Grammy-winning rapper and social-political activist Killer Mike will receive the first Billboard Change Maker Award at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards.
NBC and dick clark productions announced the new award and recipient Monday, two days ahead of the show, which will air live on NBC from the Dolby Theatre at 8 p.m. EDT.
Atlanta-born Killer Mike first made waves in music with his appearance on Outkast’s 2000 album, “Stankonia.” He later won a Grammy with the duo for the Top 20 pop hit “The Whole World.” He’s also a member of the hip-hop duo Run the Jewels, which released their fourth album in June.
But Killer Mike has made noise outside of music, too. He’s spoken out against police brutality, inequality in Black communities and race relations. Last year he hosted Netflix’s “Trigger Warning with Killer Mike,” a 2019 documentary series about issues affected the Black community.
The Billboard Change Maker Award will be presented by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms at the African American Panoramic Experience Museum in Atlanta.
Kelly Clarkson will host the ceremony, which will include performances by Alicia Keys, Bad Bunny, BTS, Sia, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Doja Cat, En Vogue, Khalid, Swae Lee, Demi Lovato, SAINt JHN and leading nominee Post Malone. Because of the pandemic, some of the performances will be pre-taped while others will take place live.
Book the Vote
initiative to start
NEW YORK (AP) — Neil Gaiman, Anita Hill and Ann Patchett will be among the contributors to Book the Vote, an online initiative to provide information on the electoral system, voting registration and civic topics.
Book the Vote is a collaboration among Penguin Random House, PEN America, the non-profit organization When We All Vote and the literary retailer Out of Print, which is owned by Penguin Random House.
The web site will include videos from Gaiman, Hill, Patchett and other authors and public figures, including Jennifer Egan, Jeffrey Toobin, Susan Orlean and Alan Cumming. One feature is called “How America Works” and covers four topics: the right to vote, voting for the president, the Supreme Court and the electoral college.
“Truth, facts, press freedom, and the future of open discourse are all on the ballot this November,” PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement.
Noseel and Penguin Random House U.S. CEO Madeline McIntosh said they were pleased to be working together to provide credible and authoritative information about the U.S. election and voting rights.
