On Sept. 14 in the nation's capital, the Recording Industry Association of America will celebrate Hip-Hop at its annual RIAA Honors. Along with co-hosts The National Museum of African American Music and Stupid Fly, this year's celebration, dubbed RIAA Honors: Pioneers of Hip-Hop, will acknowledge the contributions of Grandmaster Flash, MC Lyte, Jeff Harleston and Chairman Hakeem Jeffries to the most popular music and the dominant youth culture in the world today.

“At this year’s RIAA Honors, we are thrilled to celebrate pioneers who have defied obstacles, defined a genre and accelerated the growth of hip-hop to audiences across generations and geography," said RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier. "Congratulations and thank you, Grandmaster Flash, MC Lyte, Jeff Harleston and Chairman Hakeem Jeffries for your contributions to this diverse musical landscape and setting the stage for creators to come.”

Grandmaster Flash was pivotal in advancing DJ Kool Herc's turntable techniques in the mid-1970s, and his recordings with his group, The Furious 5, have earned them the distinction of being the first rap group inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Their groundbreaking song "The Message" injected social commentary into rap music and is part of the Library of
Congress archives as well as the Grammy Hall of Fame.

MC Lyte is one of Hip Hop's most celebrated MCs, beginning her solo career in 1988 with her acclaimed debut Lyte As a Rock. In addition to a successful recording career that spanned well into the 1990s, she has been a spokesperson for issues that affect women both in and outside of Hip-Hop.

As General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs for Universal Music Group (UMG), Jeff Harleston is responsible for overseeing all of the company’s business transactions, contracts, litigation, government relations, trade and anti-piracy activities. During a 29-year career with UMG, Harleston’s accolades include The Recording Academy’s 2020 Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award, Billboard’s 2018 “Lawyer of the Year,” the 2018 Diversity Award from the Association of Corporate Counsel for Southern California; Ebony magazine’s “Power 100” list and Billboard’s “Power 100” list.

Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-08) is a member of the House Judiciary and Budget Committees, and since 2018 has served as Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. Through his five terms in Congress, he has been a tireless advocate for his constituents, the causes of social and economic justice, and the music community. He played a key role in crafting the historic Music Modernization Act, which brought American copyright laws in line with the streaming revolution, as well as the Copyright Alternative in Small Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act, which created the Copyright Claims Board to quickly and effectively resolve copyright disputes under $30,000 in the U.S. Copyright Office.

The first-ever RIAA Honors was held on Capitol Hill in 2019.