Music Exec Sylvia Rhone To Receive 'Ultimate Icon' Honor At BET Awards

Sylvia Rhone is finally getting her just due.

The veteran music executive will be honored at the BET Awards for her contributions to the music industry. She was the first Black female executive to run a major label and signing artists who have gone on to become superstars.

She’ll receive the BET Ultimate Icon Award at the upcoming BET Awards broadcast live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 28 at 8 p.m. ET. Druski is the host.

“Sylvia Rhone’s influence extends far beyond the music business and into the culture itself,” Connie Orlando, EVP & Head of Programming, BET said in a statement. “She championed artists and executives, shattered ceilings that had never been broken, and redefined what leadership looks like for women and people of color in every boardroom that followed.

Orlando continued, “Her legacy is heard in the music, seen in the careers she built, and felt in the generation of leaders walking the path she cleared. We are proud to honor Sylvia Rhone with the Ultimate Icon Award at the ‘BET Awards’ 2026.”

The 74-year-old has worked in the business for five decades, starting as an assistant at the now-defunct Buddha Records. After years of working her way up and a stop as Senior VP of Black Music at Atlantic Records working with Brandy, MC Lyte, Yo Yo, LeVert, and more, she was named the Chairman and CEO of Elektra Records, part of the Warner Music Group. At that time, Missy, Busta Rhymes, and EnVogue were on the label, as well as Metallica and Natalie Merchant.

Ten years later, she’d become the head of Universal Motown, which boasted the talents of India.Arie, Akon, Kid Cudi, and Erykah Badu and was the distribution partner for Cash Money Records. Rhone then joined Epic as its president in 2014, spearheading the careers of Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Mariah the Scientist, Giveon, Future and Tyla.

In 2025, she stepped down as Chairman and CEO of Epic Records after six years.

“I am blessed to have worked with some of the most brilliant and influential artists in the history of recorded music, Rhone said in a farewell memo to Epic staff. “And I’ve discovered this: when we channel our strength and creativity in service of a vision, and collaborate with artists who do the same, we create music that reflects our world, questions our assumptions, and uplifts our spirits. This is a kind of magic, a deeply human connection. Right now, when music’s DNA is being reimagined, when artists face existential challenges, and when all of us are building the future in real time, there is little that is more profound.

According to a BET release, the Ultimate Icon award “honors the trailblazers whose work has transcended their field, figures whose names have become synonymous with excellence. This distinction belongs to those few who didn’t just succeed within the culture; they expanded what the culture believed was possible, leaving a mark so enduring it cannot be measured by any single era or achievement.”

Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Kirk Franklin and Mariah Carey are previous recipients of the award.


 

Groundbreaking Music Exec Sylvia Rhone To Receive ‘Ultimate Icon’ Honor At BET Awards – Page 5 was originally published on cassiuslife.com