Jorres “Real Red” Nelson picks up two Most-Performed Songs of the Year awards
September 14, 2022 (Memphis, TN) – Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME), a full-service entertainment group that includes 4U Recording, Beatroot Music, Heavy Hitters Music, and MIME Publishing, is proud to announce that songwriter Christopher “YC” Pearson was honored with the BMI Songwriter of the Year award at the 2022 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards on September 7 in Miami, FL, for several songs administered by MIME. Pearson received the honor for co-writing three of BMI’s most performed R&B/Hip-Hop songs in the past year, including Moneybagg Yo’s “Time Today” and “Wockesha,” and Pooh Shiesty’s “Back in Blood” (feat. Lil Durk). In addition, MIME Publishing’s Jorres “Real Red” Nelson won two Most-Performed Song of the Year awards for contributing to Moneybagg Yo’s “Time Today” and “Wockesha,” marking his first-ever BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Award.
“This is such an incredible honor to receive the BMI Songwriter Award alongside Megan Thee Stallion and the other incredible songwriters this year,” said Pearson. “Never could I have imagined that I would win an award as prestigious as this, and I am unable to put into words how thankful I am to BMI, MIME, Warner Chappell, Nless, Moneybagg Yo, and Pooh Shiesty for continuing to believe in and work with me and my art. Thank you so much.”
“We are incredibly happy for YC on his momentous BMI Songwriter of the Year Award,” said Tony D. Alexander, President and Managing Director of Made in Memphis Entertainment. “Our songwriters continuously winning awards like this only solidifies MIME’s reputation for fostering and working with the best talent in the business. We are so excited for YC’s continued success and what is to come in the years ahead.”
The 2022 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards took place on September 7 at the LIV Nightclub in Miami Beach, FL, and were hosted by Mike O’Neill, BMI President and CEO, and Catherine Brewton, VP of Creative (Atlanta) at BMI. Honorees included Busta Rhymes (BMI Icon Award), “Peaches” (Song of the Year), Megan Thee Stallion and Christopher “YC” Pearson (Songwriter of the Year), Sony Music Publishing (Publisher of the Year), and Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II (Producer of the Year). In addition, BMI honored six top producers including ATL Jacob, Rogét Chahayed, Issac “Zac” De Boni, Charlie Handsome, Michael “Finatik” Mulé, and Kanye West. BMI also honored the 35 top-performing songs in their repertoire that achieved the most performances on terrestrial radio, satellite radio, and digital streaming services in the last year, which included 64 first-time BMI R&B/Hip-Hop award winners.
Christopher “YC” Pearson was first introduced to music when he learned to play drums at age four and was playing piano by age 13. Looking for a way to make money in high school, he started deejaying as DJ YC, and the rest is history. Soon after, he struck up a friendship with Memphis producer Real Red. After a serious car accident, YC focused on making beats and gained the attention of budding artist Dee Mula. The two of them would end up working together to create “Crank Up,” which amassed more than 2 million views on YouTube, bringing him into contact with Moneybagg Yo, who he still produces for and collaborates with today.
Jorres “Real Red” Nelson is a born-and-raised Memphian who grew up playing drums at church. Marked by a trap style with bouncy synths and a knack for catchy melodies, Real Red’s laid-back and unhurried rhythm and bass is quintessential Memphis, and provides a diverse melodic canvas that any artist can paint on. In 2021, Real Red helped bring Moneybagg Yo to #1 when he produced and engineered 10 of the 22 tracks on A Gangsta’s Pain and was named the #2 R&B/Hip-Hop Producer by Billboard. In 2021, Real Red also charted five songs on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop chart at the same time with Moneybagg Yo’s “Time Today” (#31), “Shottas(Lala)” (#35), “Go!” (#52), “Wockesha” (#59), and “Clear Da Air” (#100). He also won his first-ever BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Award in 2022 for his work on Moneybagg Yo’s “Time Today” and “Wockesha.”
About Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME)
Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME) is a Black-owned full-service entertainment group with global reach, but with its heart in the hometown of modern American music. Founded in 2015 by original Stax Records songwriter/producer and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee David Porter (CEO) and 20+ year business and legal veteran Tony D. Alexander (President and Managing Director), MIME is dedicated to re-establishing Memphis as a key music industry hub while expanding its influence around the world, all while developing and promoting diverse talent on both the creative and business sides of the industry. MIME’s family of companies includes MIME Publishing, an independent music publishing company that handles Porter’s legendary post-Stax songwriting catalog and other copyrights of some of the most sought-after young producers in hip-hop and R&B; Heavy Hitters Music, a film, TV, and ad sync company with an all-female creative team and Emmy-winning music catalog; Beatroot Music, a leading independent music distributor, as well as its subsidiary Beatroot Africa; and 4U Recording, a state-of the-art recording studio brand with locations in Memphis and Atlanta. For more information, visit mimecorp.com.