IHEARTMEDIA NORFOLK’S 103 JAMZ AND 92.1 THE BEAT HONOR PHARRELL WILLIAMS AND PUSHA-T WITH “7CITIES ICON AWARD”
103 JAMZ, Hip-Hop and R&B, and 92.1 The Beat, Hampton Roads Throwbacks and R&B, announced today that Pharrell Williams and Pusha-T will receive this year’s “7Cities Icon Award” as part of the fourth annual “Best of the 7Cities” contest.
The “7Cities Icon Award” was newly added to the “Best of the 7Cities” contest this year as a way to give listeners something to feel good about and look forward to during unprecedented times. This first-ever “7Cities Icon Award” will be given to two legends from the Norfolk area, Pharrell Williams and Pusha-T.
Williams’ accolades span music, fashion, TV, movies, philanthropy and more. As a record producer, he and his partner Chad Hugo of The Neptunes changed music and created the soundtrack for 2000s Hip-Hop. Williams has also launched successful clothing lines, been a coach on “The Voice,” produced and scored several movies, and was once named the “Best Dressed Man in the World.” In addition, Williams was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020. He has also become a philanthropist over the years and has given back through his charitable foundations From One Hand To Another (FOHTA), and Team Yellow and the Williams Farm Park Youth Center in Virginia Beach. Each year he also hosts the “Something In The Water Festival,” a three-day concert event in his hometown of Virginia Beach, showing the world that the 757 is a special place.
Terrence “Pusha-T” Thornton has been representing the Norfolk area as a high-caliber MC for more than two decades, first making a name for himself as part of Clipse with his brother Gene “No Malice” Thornton. He continued as a solo artist with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint. Pusha-T has released three albums, throughout his solo career, received several Grammy nominations and been named President of G.O.O.D. Music. In 2020, he founded his own label, HeirWave Music Group, a company based in Virginia focusing on cultivating talent from the area. Pusha-T’s love and dedication to the 7Cities has never wavered, and he even teamed up with former NBA star Ricky Davis and music legend Tony Draper to bring the “Feed the City” challenge to Norfolk, which helped feed thousands of people in need when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“These two have been in the public eye representing Virginia and the 757 for a long time,” said DJ Fountz, Program Director of 103 JAMZ and 92.1 The Beat. “They know that the people here
are proud of them, so as program director of the Radio Station s, I feel that it’s only right that we officially give them their flowers while I have the opportunity to do it.”
Both Pharrell’s and Pusha T’s acceptance speech videos can be viewed online at 103jamz.com and thebeatva.com or on the Radio Station s’ social media platforms @103jamzradio and @thebeatva.
For the past four years, 103 JAMZ and 92.1 The Beat have held the “Best of the 7Cities” contest to find the best local talent and businesses in the Norfolk area and honor them with a “Best of the 7Cities” award. Categories range from Best Barbershop and Best Soul Food Spot to Best Local Athlete and Best Pastor. Nominees are submitted by the listeners and winners are also chosen by the listeners based on the finalists in each category.
iHeartMedia is the leading media outlet in the Norfolk market with multiple platforms, including its broadcast Radio Station s; live events; data; and its digital businesses and platforms, including mobile, social and its own iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s free all-in-one digital music, podcasting and live streaming radio service – with 3 billion app downloads and more than 145 million registered users.
