{"id":698318,"date":"2026-06-11T19:45:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T19:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/698318\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T19:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T19:45:09","slug":"sylvia-rhone-to-receive-ultimate-icon-award-at-bet-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/698318\/","title":{"rendered":"Sylvia Rhone to Receive ‘Ultimate Icon’ Award at BET Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tLegendary music executive Sylvia Rhone<\/a> \u2014 who was the first woman to lead a major music company \u2014\u00a0will receive the \u201cUltimate Icon\u201d award at the BET<\/a> Awards on Sunday, June 28 at 8 p.m. ET\/PT. The show will air on BET from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to the announcement, \u201cThe Ultimate Icon Award honors the trailblazers whose work has transcended their field, figures whose names have become synonymous with excellence. This distinction belongs to those few who didn\u2019t just succeed within the culture; they expanded what the culture believed was possible, leaving a mark so enduring it cannot be measured by any single era or achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRhone\u2019s legacy encapsulates that and more: Rhone, 74, who stepped down as chairman of Epic Records <\/a>last fall, began her career as an assistant at Buddah Records and rose through the ranks over the years to become the first woman to be named chairman and CEO of a major record label, at the age of 42 no less, when she was named CEO of Warner Music Group\u2019s Elektra label (Metallica, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, En Vogue and Natalie Merchant were among the hit artists on the roster at the time). She was already being recognized with such descriptors as \u201cfirst woman\u201d and \u201conly African American\u201d to hold such a title. A decade later, she would take the chief executive position again at Universal Motown (Akon, India.Arie, Erykah Badu). <\/p>\n

\n\tShe spoke with Variety in 2020<\/a> at length about the industry and her career.<\/p>\n

\n\tArtists she\u2019s worked with closely over the years also include Stevie Wonder, Lil Wayne, Tracy Chapman, Erykah Badu, Brandy, Kid Cudi, Gerald Levert, Anita Baker, Tamia, MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, Yolanda Adams, Akon, Fabolous, Ol Dirty Bastard and more.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSylvia Rhone\u2019s influence extends far beyond the music business and into the culture itself,\u201d said Connie Orlando, EVP & Head of Programming, BET. \u201cShe championed artists and executives, shattered ceilings that had never been broken, and redefined what leadership looks like for women and people of color in every boardroom that followed. Her legacy is heard in the music, seen in the careers she built, and felt in the generation of leaders walking the path she cleared. We are proud to honor Sylvia Rhone with the Ultimate Icon Award at the \u2018BET Awards\u2019 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Legendary music executive Sylvia Rhone \u2014 who was the first woman to lead a major music company \u2014\u00a0will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":698319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[47133,88,216,208382],"class_list":["post-698318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-bet","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-sylvia-rhone"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=698318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/698319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=698318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=698318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}