Reid and Babyface followed by accepting their awards.
“We’re not from Atlanta, but the city opened its arms to us and it didn’t have to,” Reid said. “Atlanta never made us feel like outsiders and, as a result, we were able to give that back by giving opportunities to young aspiring artists like Jermaine Dupri and Dallas Austin and Rico Wade, who are real geniuses.”
Babyface also expressed his appreciation at being recognized by his industry peers. “The thing that keeps sticking with me when I Iook across this room and see all the talent — if we had anything to do with inspiring this — to me that’s God’s blessing,” Babyface said. “When amazing things are happening, you don’t always realize it. When we came down to Atlanta, we were just trying to make some music. I didn’t have it in my head that we were going to make this the greatest label of all time.”
The event concluded with Kawan “KP” Prather serving as DJ as Atlanta rap acts Goodie Mob, Big Boi of OutKast, T.I., 2 Chainz, Killer Mike and Pastor Troy all took turns performing. Reid and Babyface looked on, both smiling from ear to ear.
It was a testament to their work, journey and impact on a city that will always be remembered for its unique creative output in this era.
