THE 6th ANNUAL SOUTHERN ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS
“It Just Keeps Gettin’ Betta!”

Nashville, TN---Those who attended the 5th Annual Southern Entertainment Awards (SEA) can certainly vouch for the fact that it was the best one to date. With approximately 3,000 people in attendance over the three-day weekend event and close to 1900 attending the Sunday awards show, the urban independent music scene of the South definitely made their presence seen, heard and felt at the Harrah’s Casino & Resort in Tunica, MS.

As the SEA phenomenon continues to grow, sponsors are signing up in show of their support including the Houston-based BCD Music Group, which gave the 2008 Indy Rap Artist of The Year a $30,000 package containing a cash prize of $5,000, an all expense paid trip to their Houston facility, and a recording and EP release budget. This being just another sign of what the SEA founders, Janiro Hawkins II , Jesse “DJ Infamous” Johnson and Brent “DJ Outlaw” Buford believed back in 2003: that the independent hip-hop culture of the South is lucrative, powerful and not going anywhere any time soon.

As they gear up for their sixth year, even greater things are in store. The first day will kick off with events honoring women in the industry with female-focused pampering sessions, workshops and panels. There will be 18 new categories added to this year’s nominations ballot including DJ Crew/Family of the Year, Photographer/Journalist of the Year, “Beat” of the Year, Program/Music Director of the Year (radio), Internet Hustler of the Year, Slept On Model of the Year, Community Activist of the Year and Role Model of the Year. The recipients of 2009 Impact Awards have also been announced: Tony Neal (founder of Core DJs/Core DJ Retreat/Core Streets/Core Models), J. Prince (founder of Rap-A-Lot Records), Tony Draper (founder of Suave House) and the legendary Luke (founder of 2 Live Crew and Luke Records).

“The SEA Impact Award was created to give recognition to individuals who have contributed significantly to the growth and development of entertainment in the South,” says Janiro. “We are excited to present awards to these four men because we feel that they have been an integral part of accomplishing this objective.”

As the SEAs officially inducts an additional state to their SEA delegate ballot (Kentucky), in the effort to better serve the voting community, they have also made some changes to the nominations process which begins on Thursday, May 1, 2008. For the first time, there will only be online voting (no paper ballots) and a “Power Ballot” will also be introduced into this year’s voting process.

“This special ballot will be mailed out secretly to two people per (eligible) state,” says Janiro. “These ballots will count for 30% of the overall vote, while the online votes will round out the remaining 70%. While we want to make sure that the voting process is fair, we will always want this to be an awards event where the people/fans have the final say. That’s always going to be what’s most important to us.”

An awards show that respects the power of the southern urban independent music scene? If you’ve never made it the Mississippi way, what are you waiting for? Make your plans now to attend the 6th Annual SEA Awards. They will be taking place on March 19th – March 22nd, 2009 at the Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica, MS and it’s definitely worth the trip. Just ask the thousands who already know!

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For more information on the SEAs check out www.southernentawards.com