MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Lil Jon and R. Kelly won Songwriters of the Year honors at the 2005 BMI Urban Awards at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach.
Lil Jon was also named Songwriter of the Year at BMI's Pop Awards in May, becoming the first person to earn both Pop and Urban Songwriter of the Year honors in the same year, BMI said in a news release Saturday.
"Yeah!," written by Sean Garrett, Lil' Jon and Patrick "j.Que" Smith, was named Song of the Year during the Friday night ceremony.
Kanye West received Producer of the Year honors, and EMI Music Publishing was awarded the BMI Crystal for Urban Publisher of the Year.
The first Urban Ringtone Award went to Lil Jon and Craig D. Love for "Freek-A-Leek."
Urban funk legends Charlie Wilson and The GAP Band were named BMI Icons for their "enduring influence on generations of music makers."
In all, 70 songwriters were honored for the 35 most performed urban format songs of 2004.
