The godmother of soul, Erykah Badu, returned to the stage to host The Soul Train Awards 2016, which took place November 6 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. In addition to her hosting duties, Erykah also hit the stage to perform. First with singer/rapper D.R.A.M., performing their recently released song, “WiFi.” and later bringing out her “sister of soul”, India Arie, to sing their spirited, message-driven song “Breathe.”
The annual event honoring the best in soul and R&B featured moving performances by Brandy, Bobby Brown, MA$E, DRU HILL, Doug E Fresh, India Arie, Carl Thomas, Eric Benét, Tito Jackson and Wreckx-n-Effect. GRAMMY award-winning, multi-platinum singer Brandy was presented with the second annual Lady of Soul Award, following a heartfelt speech from 2015 honoree Jill Scott and a special tribute video from industry’s top executives and artists such as Kenny “BabyFace” Edmonds, Jazmine Sullivan, Jhene Aiko and more, who spoke to Brandy’s dedication, creativity and vocal prowess. Brandy then blew the crowd away with a full dance and stunning vocal performance of her most beloved hits including “Almost Doesn’t Count,” “What About Us,” “Full Moon,” “I Wanna Be Down,” “The Boy Is Mine,” “Talk About Our Love,” “Have You Ever,” and “Sitting On Top Of The World,” joined by MA$E.
Dru Hill, kept the party going with a medley of 90s R&B jams including “Tell Me,” “In My Bed,” and “Beauty.” Dru Hill lead singer Sisqó then performed his mega-hit “Thong Song,” getting the entire crowd up out of their seats – including Teyana Taylor who knew every word! For the second year, the awards also unveiled a powerful “Soul Cypher” featuring a mix of legendary and contemporary R&B and soul singers coming together. Badu DJed the cypher while Tyrese, Ne-Yo, Angie Stone and the Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight performed raw versions of their songs.
Soul Train Awards 2016 will air on Centric and BET on Sunday, November 27 at 8:00pm E.T.
