Walt ‘Baby’ Love, Nelson George & More to Be Honored by Living Legends Foundation

UPDATE (Aug. 21): Tammi Mac, air personality at KJLH-FM Los Angeles, will host the Living Legends Foundation’s annual awards dinner and gala, which is set for Friday, Oct. 6 at Taglyan Cultural Complex in Hollywood. Kevin Alexander Gilliam, known as DJ Battlecat, will provide the entertainment at this year’s Hip Hop At 50 celebration.

Jacqueline Rhinehart, vp and board member of the foundation, will be presented with the Creative Visionary Award. Rhinehart’s more than 30 years in music, media and marketing includes stints at Universal/Motown Records, Arista Records, PolyGram/Mercury and Uptown/MCA Records. There will also be a tribute to the late Varnell Harris Johnson, veteran music executive and former president of the Living Legends Foundation.

PREVIOUSLY (June 1): Walt “Baby” Love, a 2022 inductee into the Radio Hall of Fame, will receive another honor in October, when he is one of eight individuals recognized by the Living Legends Foundation at its annual awards dinner and gala. Love will receive the Ray Harris Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s event, which is set for Friday, Oct. 6 at Taglyan Cultural Complex in Hollywood.

Love has hosted three long-running radio programs — The Countdown with Walt “Baby” Love, Gospel Traxx and The Urban AC Countdown. For 21 years, Love worked at Radio & Records as its urban radio and music editor while simultaneously hosting his syndicated radio shows.

Nelson George, who likewise first made his mark in music trade journalism before broadening his focus, will also be honored. George, who wrote for Billboard in the 1980s before becoming a noted author and filmmaker, will receive the Media Icon Award.

The other honorees are Ed Lover, star of The Ed Lover Show with Monie Love (Jerry Boulding Radio Award); Lionel Ridenour, founder/CEO of Anchor Promotions (Music Executive Award); Tracey Jordan, partner of Lazin/Jordan Productions (Mike Bernardo Female Executive Award); Rocky Bucano, executive director of the Universal Hip Hop Museum (Hip Hop Visionary Award); Vernon Brown, Esq., founder of V. Brown & Company (Entertainment Advocate Award); and Shanti Das, former music executive and founder of Silence The Shame (A.D. Washington Chairman’s Award).

“This year is particularly special because, in addition to our annual awards ceremony, we are also celebrating 50 years of hip-hop,” said Living Legends Foundation chairman David C. Linton in a statement. “We are the first generation of music executives to help break and recognize hip-hop as a global music art form. Most of our board and advisory members were responsible for signing many of today’s hip-hop legends and icons to recording contracts and record label imprint deals, ultimately creating the phenomenon known to the world as ‘hip-hop culture.’ Additionally, for the past three to four decades, many of our board members have guided the careers of these legends and icons via management, marketing, radio promotions, publicity, sales, and A&R.”

This year’s awards dinner and gala will be held on Friday, Oct. 6 at Taglyan Cultural Complex, 1201 N. Vine Street, Hollywood. The red carpet and cocktail reception begin at 6:30 p.m. with the awards dinner starting at 7:30 p.m.

This year’s dinner chairs are Skip Dillard, brand manager and program director for Audacy’s WXBK/94.7, the Block, New York City; and Lady B, on-air personality at Classix 107.9 in Philadelphia.

Founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1992, the Living Legends Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization and has been funded primarily by corporate contributions and individual donations. The organization has expanded its mission to assist those who have served the music industry and who have what it calls “a confirmable need.”

Over the past 30 years, the foundation has honored more than 100 leaders in the areas of broadcasting, film, recorded music, media, publishing, radio, publicity and marketing.

For more information, visit the organization’s website.