ATLANTA – VP Records recording artist Gyptian is honored with the 2010 Soul Train Award for ‘Best Reggae Artist’, picking up the iconic trophy following his featured performance during the show, held at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday, November 10. The Soul Train Awards was hosted by Oscar-nominated actors Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard and airs on both BET and Centric on Sunday, November 28 at 9pm EST.
The reggae category presentation followed Gyptian’s performance that lit up the house with Jamaica flags on the big screens and green, yellow and black splashed across the stage, silhouetting backup dancers under the guidance of famed celeb choreographer Fatima Robinson. Gyptian first teased the crowd with his new single “Nah Let Go” before breaking into his smash breakout hit, “Hold You,” much to the crowd’s delight.
“I came all the way from the beautiful island of Jamaica to win this prestigious award,” stated an elated Gyptian during his acceptance speech. “Thank you to BET, Centric and Soul Train for this tremendous recognition.” Gyptian also thanked the entire VP Records team and all his fans worldwide for supporting him from day one.
Gyptian was also a featured speaker at a forum for The Grammy Foundation in collaboration with Centric prior to the show, along with comedian Chris Spencer and VP Records’ Vice President/Marketing and Promotions Cristy Barber, where they addressed Atlanta-based students pursuing careers in the arts and entertainment. He later mingled with fellow entertainment personalities, including singers NeYo and Erykah Badu, actress and show host Taraji P. Henson, actor Lamman Rucker, BET’s A. J. Calloway and even CNN’s Wolf Blizter, just to name a few of the hundreds of celebs who turned out for the legendary musical event.
This is the second major award for Gyptian this year. He nabbed the 2010 MOBO Award for ‘Best Reggae Artist’ in October in Liverpool, England. Gyptian broke from his sold-out European tour to perform at the Soul Train Awards, and just finished opening for Mary J. Blige at the O2 Arena during her UK tour before flying to Atlanta.
Gyptian’s album Hold You is now available in stores and online. Both singles, “Nah Let Go” and “Hold You” are also available on iTunes, and “Hold You” was released on iTunes UK just last week. The smash single has already sold nearly 300,000 digital units thus far.
