Black ladies are the spine of the music business, and the Connie Orlando Basis celebrated that in essentially the most marvelous manner on the Black Ladies in Music Dinner.
On June 12, the 2026 Black Ladies in Music Dinner happened on the Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles. The annual occasion introduced collectively artists, executives, creators, and cultural architects for a night that was equal components celebration, testimony, and reminder that the ladies who constructed this business deserve their flowers whereas they’re very a lot nonetheless right here to obtain them.
In line with the official press launch, the occasion was hosted by comic Zainab Johnson and introduced in partnership with Founding Accomplice HarbourView Fairness Companions and is now firmly established as one of many cornerstone celebrations of Black Music Month. The room included Connie Orlando herself, Bresha Webb, Tracey Edmonds, Mona Scott-Younger, Shaun Robinson, and Gabrielle Dennis among the many attendees, which tells you every little thing you have to know in regards to the power in that constructing on a Friday night time in LA.
The honorees this yr had been actually icons. Chaka Khan acquired the Vanguard Award, introduced by HarbourView Fairness Companions Founder and CEO Sherrese Clarke. They regarded on the legend and mentioned, “Your voice didn’t simply outline an period; it continues to form the long run.”
Kelly Rowland acquired the Velvet Guard Award introduced by none apart from Tina Knowles, who got here by with one of the vital genuinely transferring presenter speeches of your entire night.
“Kelly, you’re a uncommon gem and it has been a pleasure to be your bonus mother,” Tina mentioned. “You’re a celebrity in each sense of the phrase and you’re additionally the perfect spouse, mom, sister, buddy and daughter anybody can ask for.”
Fatima Robinson, one of the vital influential choreographers and inventive administrators within the historical past of the music video period, acquired the Guardian of Imaginative and prescient Award. Her award was introduced by 2025 Vanguard Honoree Sylvia Rhone, who referred to as her “my sister-friend, my artistic guru, and one of the vital influential visionaries of our time.”
Natina Nimene acquired the New Guard Award. Presenter Juliette Jones famous that what units Nimene aside is “her uncommon mixture of steadfast safety and strategic focus” and her capability to “bridge the hole between the uncooked power of the streets and the high-stakes boardroom.”
The night additionally spotlighted Billboard’s Editor at Massive for R&B and Hip-Hop, Gail Mitchell, and award-winning producer and audio engineer Ebonie Smith because the Basis’s 2026 Guardian Angel Spotlights. This distinction honors the protectors and messengers within the music business who quietly and constantly champion the subsequent era. Each had been introduced by 2025 Guardian Angel Highlight recipient DJ KISS, who additionally supplied music for the night.
Performances by YULI, David Michael Wyatt, and the legendary Chanté Moore saved the room lifted all night time as a result of a night honoring Black ladies in music was all the time going to sound precisely proper.
The Connie Orlando Basis’s Black Ladies in Music Dinner additionally continued its essential work elevating consciousness and funds for breast most cancers prevention, schooling, and care in Black communities. The occasion was greater than a celebration of the gifted Black ladies in music. It was a dedication to the very ladies it honored. Chaka Khan, Kelly Rowland, and each girl in that room deserved each single second of it.
Congrats!
Take a look at extra images from the night time beneath!
