New York Music Awards Winners Announced: Birthplace Magazine Voted Best Music Website – Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Joell Ortiz Among Other Winners

Birthplace Magazine (www.BirthplaceMag.com), along with notable New York hip hop artists including Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and Joell Ortiz, have been voted recipients of New York Music Awards for 2010. Birthplace Magazine was honored with the 2010 New York Music Award for Best Music Website.

The New York Music Awards date back to their origin in 1986, founded to “honor musical artists who are from New York, who live in New York or who established themselves in New York and are New York-identified,” a mantra we echo regarding our hip hop coverage on this site. The NYMAs continued for many years, conducting standing room only award ceremony concerts at the legendary Beacon Theatre, winning critical acclaim from media outlets such as the New York Times, Billboard, Rolling Stone and MTV News. In fact, during their run, the NYMAs were partially responsible for helping to nudge hip hop more into the mainstream music consciousness.

For many New York artists, the first official industry award in their careers was bestowed upon them by the New York Music Awards, including Madonna and Mary J. Blige.

After a few years hiatus, the New York Music Awards have returned, and we are extremely pleased to see our New York hip hop family members honored among the 2010 recipients, including Fabolous, Talib Kweli (along with Hi-Tek, as Reflection Eternal) and Nas.

Even more, we’re happy to see some of the New York hip hop talent that we also noted get recognized by this prestigious organization. Named one of our inaugural “5 Reasons Why New York Hip Hop Doesn’t Suck,’ Brooklyn’s Joell Ortiz won for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist. Nicki Minaj, another of our “5 Reasons,” scored multiple wins, for Best Debut Hip-Hop Album, Best Debut Hip-Hop Single, Best Featured Hip-Hop Artist, Debut Artist of the Year and Best Female Hip-Hop Artist.

Though we strive to maintain a journalistic impartiality throughout our coverage of the New York hip hop scene, we’re admittedly a bit excited to see yet another “5 Reasons” recipient honored with an award that specifically highlights upcoming talent. We have been watching her progression, admiringly, and when we highlighted her, we described her as “star quality, personified.”

We’re glad the NYMAs agree, awarding Kalae AllDay with the prestigious Rising Star award.

Last, but certainly not least, we want to thank the New York Music Awards for finding Birthplace Magazine worthy of consideration, and ultimately finding us worthy of winning the award for Best Music Website. We are humbled by the news, and honored to be among this talented historical field of talent and such a rich tradition in the New York music scene.

The New York Music Awards will celebrate 2010 and upcoming 2011 winners with its Award Ceremony and Concert on December 3, 2011. Visit www.newyorkmusicawards.com to stay informed.

Here’s the rundown of all the 2010 New York Music Award winners, in the hop hop categories:

Hall of Fame: Gil Scott-Heron
Debut Artist of the Year: Nicki Minaj
Rising Star: Kalae AllDay
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist: Joell Ortiz
Best Hip-Hop Album: Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek), Revolutions Per Minute
Best Debut Hip-Hop Album: Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday
Best Hip-Hop Single: Fabolous, “You Be Killin Em”
Best Debut Hip-Hop Single: Nicki Minaj, “Your Love”
Best Hip-Hop Album Collaboration: Nas & Damien Marley, Distant Relatives
Best Hip-Hop Video: Fabolous, “You Be Killin Em”
Best Featured Hip-Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj, Kanye West’s “Monster”
Best Single by Hip-Hop Group/Duo: Lloyd Banks, Juelz Santana, “Beamer, Benz or Bentley”
Best Male Soul Artist: Gil Scott-Heron
Best Concert: Jay-Z/Eminem at Yankee Stadium
Best Music Website: www.BirthplaceMag.com

For the full list of 2010 New York Music Award winners, and more information about the NYMAs, visit www.newyorkmusicawards.com/2010_Winners.html.