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Jon B Slated to Perform at the ROC Awards

Jon B played on a lot of iPods in the early 2000s- especially for youngsters who just knew “They Don’t Know” was about their boo.

And this February he’ll be singing on stage at the 2017 ROC Awards.

“The ROC Awards is happy to have R&B recording artist Jon B headline our 2017 award show. We hope that our talented nominees will be inspired by Jon B’s participation as an example of accomplishment and perseverance. Jon B turned his desire to have a signing career into reality and worked with highly respected producers like LA Reid and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds. Jon B experienced R&B success to the level of making songs with Babyface and was embraced by artist from the rap industry which allowed him to work with Tupac. We hope our nominees and attendees are inspired to have their dreams come true as Jon B has done.” said Yolanda Smilez, Founder & CEO of Smilez Entertainment and creator of the ROC Awards.

Jon B is a 5-time Billboard Music Award nominee and has been nominated for a Grammy Award nominee for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for “Someone to Love.” Before he was making money off of his own voice, he wrote music for Michael Jackson, Toni Braxton and Color Me Badd.

His performance is part of Smilez’ overall goal to turn the ROC Awards up another notch. Already the event netted thousands of attendees last year, but organizers are expecting to blow last year’s crowd of about 7,000 out of the water.

The ROC Awards are scheduled for February 19th 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. at Kodak Theater on the Ridge Center for the Performing Arts. Last year over 1,000 attended and the event is only expected to grow even further this year. Follow ROC Awards 2017 on Facebook and Instagram or use the official hashtag #ROCAwards2017.

By: Staff Reporters, Jan 17, 2017

Now is the time to make your voice heard, Rochester.

The ROC Awards announced on Jan 15 voting for the annual ceremony’s many awards had opened. From Latin DJ of the Year to Make-Up Artist of the Year, voters can decide who are this year’s most talented, charitable or passionate people and companies.

To vote, please visit the ROC Awards website.

The ROC Awards are scheduled for February 19th 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. at Kodak Theater on the Ridge Center for the Performing Arts. Last year over 1,000 attended and the event is only expected to grow even further this year. Follow ROC Awards 2017 on Facebook and Instagram or use the official hashtag #ROCAwards2017.

[Photos] See Inside ROC Awards Nomination Party

Many of Rochester’s talented and most accomplished artists, community advocates and business owners gathered Sunday evening to hear the nominees for this year’s ROC Awards.

The free announcement party was held at Photo City Improv and Yolanda Smilez, CEO of the ROC Awards, hosted, peppering the already entertaining event with laughter. The theme for this year’s ROC Awards is Level V and Smilez has continued to turn it up as she prepares for the upcoming awards show.

View photos of the night from Michele Ashlee and stay tuned for voting information and the full nominee list.

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”23″ gal_title=”Nom night”]

The ROC Awards are scheduled for February 19th 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. at Kodak Theater on the Ridge Center for the Performing Arts. Last year over 1,000 attended and the event is only expected to grow even further this year. Follow ROC Awards 2017 on Facebook and Instagram or use the official hashtag #ROCAwards2017.

After over a month of soliciting names from the community, the ROC Awards is finally announcing this year’s nominees for entertainment, theatre, visual arts, fashion and community involvement awards. Those nominated for their work will be announced at a free party held Sunday from 6 p.m.- 8 p.m. at Photo City Improv located at 543 Atlantic Ave., Rochester, NY 14609

“This year we are proud of the diverse candidates that have been nominated for the ROC Awards, “ said Yolanda Smilez, CEO of the ROC Awards. “We received over 1500 nominations at rocawards.com and are excited to reveal the names this weekend.”

The ROC Awards are scheduled for February 19th 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. at Kodak Theater on the Ridge Center for the Performing Arts. Last year over 1,000 attended and the event is only expected to grow even further this year. Follow ROC Awards 2017 on Facebook and Instagram or use the official hashtag #ROCAwards2017.

The Roc Awards is easily one of the fastest growing award ceremonies in Rochester. Created by comedienne, Yolanda Smilez, the event is one of very few to recognize the hard work of local businesses and individuals, which may explain the immediate home its found.

Mostly driven by the community, nominations are a huge part of the event’s success. Currently, Rochesterians can nominate by emailing names of their favorite people and businesses to different email addresses, specifically created for the categories. The deadline for nominations is Dec 31 and includes categories like best barber, best author and best minority-owned business.

Those with the most votes become contestants and are placed on the website to be voted on. General voting opens from Jan 9 and closes Feb 10. The ceremony will be held Sunday, Feb 19.

Now in it’s fifth year, the RocAwards have grown immensely and last year topped an audience of over 1,000.

“The ROC Awards is an opportunity to celebrate and bring recognition to Rochester’s talent. We are the only award show that recognizes contributions made by urban artists and Black and Latino owned businesses,” said Smilez. “Now that we’re in our 5th year we want to give a platform to recognize the best in Rochester and invite individuals or business owners to nominate themselves or someone else who is making major moves in their field or genre.” ”

The night will feature a live band, performances by the nominees and dynamic host, comedian Joel James. Each year a special Humanitarian and Lifetime Achievement Award are also presented to distinguished members of the community who have made exemplary contributions to our city. Past honorees include Garth Fagan, last year’s Janet Lomax, and gospel legend Paul Boutte.