Kanye West was named Songwriter Of The Year at the 2021 BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards.
West won the award for writing the lyrics of three Gospel songs “Hands On,” “On God” and “Selah” from his highly celebrated ninth studio album Jesus Is King, which garnered top industry accolades from Billboard and the Grammys.
West collaborated with gospel great Fred Hammond for the crossover track “Hands On,” which landed on Billboard‘s Christian, Gospel, R&B Hip-Hop and Hot 100 charts.
“Selah” broke into the top 20 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 and was nominated for Top Gospel Song at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, competing against “On God” that same year. With this distinction, West earns his first three Trailblazer Awards, adding to his extensive collection of 38 BMI Awards from R&B/Hip-Hop, Pop, and London.
“Deliver Me (This Is My Exodus),” written by Donald Lawrence and Sir the Baptist, was awarded Song of the Year. Publisher of the Year went to Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing for representing three of BMI’s 20 most-performed Gospel songs.
In addition to the major award winners, BMI also paid homage to the 20 Most Performed Gospel Songs of the Year (2020).
The awards were announced Monday on BMI.com and across the company’s social media platforms. BMI created a special page featuring uplifting performances and first-hand accounts of the songwriting process behind some of the award-winning songs, as well as special messages from the winners.
(Photo: Kenny Sun)
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