Southern hip hop music awards and conference announced

OZONE Magazine and TJ’s DJ’s today announced the two southern organizations have combined forces to present the biggest celebration of Southern Hip Hop music. The Second Annual OZONE Awards and TJ’s DJ’s “Tastemakers Only” Music Conference, presented by Defient Entertainment, takes place August 10th – 13th in downtown Miami.

One of the year’s most anticipated award shows, the Second Annual OZONE Awards is set to take over Miami on Monday, August 13th at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami. After the phenomenal success of the first-annual awards show, OZONE Magazine's CEO, Julia Beverly, set out to create a bigger and better show for this year.
“We expect to double the number of attendees during this year’s show,” explains Beverly. “We were able to blueprint the success of last year’s show and setup a bigger event showcasing the growth and impact on Southern Hip Hop.”
The star studded award ceremony will honor the best in Hip Hop music and entertainment from the South and beyond. Nominees such as Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, UGK, Yung Joc, T-Pain, 8Ball & MJG, Lil Boosie & Webbie, Lloyd, Rich Boy, Too $hort, Trina, and many others are expected to attend the OZONE Awards.

During the weekend leading up to the OZONE Awards, the TJ’s DJ’s “Tastemakers Only” Music Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel from August 10th – 12th. Founded by music industry veteran Thomas “TJ” Chapman, the four day conference brings together the music industry’s top brass, southern artists, DJs, record labels, music producers, retailers, models and industry “tastemakers” for networking, panel discussions and sponsored seminars. Chapman has been responsible for the birth and resurgence of many southern artists careers in the last 13 years among other numerous achievements. Events include panel discussions with music industry professionals, listening suites tailored for aspiring artists, social networking events and private invite-only workshops.

Although the conference has been established for a few years, this is its first joint-venture with OZONE Magazine.
“Combining our events during one weekend of celebrating the success of Southern Hip Hop sends a powerful message that Southern Hip Hop is united and here to stay,” says conference founder Thomas “TJ” Chapman. “The South has given a lot to Hip Hop music over the years and we are finally getting the recognition we deserve for bringing a fresh sound to the art form.”

Expected panelists include DJ Drama, DJ Khaled, The CORE DJs CEO Tony Neal, Cool & Dre, Rap Coalition CEO Wendy Day, Polow da Don, Felli Fel, Scarface, Too $hort, Rick Ross, Polo Grounds CEO Bryan Leach, BET's Rap City host DJ Q45, AllHipHop CEOs Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur nd "Grouchy" Greg Watkins, MTV Jam's Manager of Music Programming Initiatives Tuma Basa, Bad Boy Records' Senior Director of Promotions Shawn Prez, Interscope/Geffen's Senior VP of A&R Shawn "Tubby" Holiday, and many more to be confirmed. There will be numerous opportunities for industry professionals to capitalize on during this experience. For more information on the conference please log onto http://www.tjsdjs.com/toa/index.html.

Top nomination categories are listed below. Fans can go to http://www.ozonemag.com/toa_voting/ to vote for your favorite artist and to view a complete list of nominees. For ticket information, please visit www.ticketmaster.com. Weekend passes (which includes all conference events, parties, and the OZONE Awards) are also available by registering at www.ozonemag.com or www.tjsdjs.com.

TOP NOMINATIONS

BEST VIDEO
DJ Khaled "We Takin' Over" Directed by Gil Green
Ludacris f/ Young Jeezy "Grew Up A Screw Up" Directed by Chaka Zulu
Pimp C "Knockin Doors Down" Directed by Benny Boom
Three 6 Mafia "Doe Boy Fresh" Directed by Gil Green
Young Buck "Get Buck" Directed by Bernard Gourley

BEST RAP ALBUM
Devin The Dude - Waitin' To Inhale
Lil Boosie - Bad Azz
Ludacris - Release Therapy
Rich Boy - Rich Boy
Rick Ross - Port of Miami
Young Jeezy - The Inspiration

BEST RAP ARTIST (MALE)
BEST RAP ARTIST (FEMALE)
Diamond and Princess of Crime Mob
Rasheeda
Shawnna
Trina

BEST RAP GROUP
8Ball & MJG
Crime Mob
OutKast
Three 6 Mafia
UGK
USDA

BEST RAP/R&B COLLABORATION
Akon f/ Snoop Dogg "I Wanna Love You"
Lloyd f/ Lil Wayne "You"
Ludacris f/ Mary J. Blige - "Runaway Love"
Plies f/ T-Pain "Shawty"
T-Pain f/ Yung Joc "Buy U A Drank"
Young Jeezy f/ R Kelly "Go Getta"
Pimp C
Rick Ross
T.I.
Young Jeezy
Lil Wayne
Ludacris

About OZONE Magazine
Founded by Julia Beverly in 2002, OZONE Magazine represents the best in Southern rap music and is now internationally distributed at many major retail outlets and newsstands. The OZONE Awards are OZONE Magazine's annual star studded award ceremony honoring the biggest names in Southern Hip Hop. The event honors Southern artists in over 20 different categories. Past participants include Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Rick Ross, Trick Daddy, UGK, Pitbull, David Banner, Trina, DJ Khaled, and DJ Drama. For more information, please visit www.ozonemag.com

About TJ’s DJ’s Tastemakers Only Music Conference
TJ’s DJ’s was established in 1994 as an opportunity for thirsty DJs in North Florida and Southern Georgia to receive the best music first while providing powerful feedback that fuels the crucial decisions made by labels. Over the years, TJ’s DJ’s has evolved to an organization that builds bridges with the quarterly Tastemakers Only/DJ Music Conferences including the annual partnership with OZONE Magazine’s OZONE Awards, takes advantage of technology by being the first urban pool to service CDs, incorporating mp3s to break music, utilizing the music traders on the message boards at www.TJsDJs.com to generate over 20 million hits per month, and provide first class promotions and consulting on how to navigate the dangerous waters of the music industry.

About Defient Entertainment
Defient Entertainment (www.thedefient.com) was started in Springfield, Virginia and is now located in South Florida. Defient consists of entrepreneurs Greg Calloway and Paul Gulbronson who both share the same work ethic for "grinding it out" and for great music. Defient Entertainment is passionate about ALL genres of music, but recognizes there are two types of music - "good music and bad music." Defient’s main focus and goal is to change the lives of young artists who share their passion for great music. Defient Entertainment has had great success since its inception five years ago. Greg Calloway won the prestigious AOL reality show "The Biz", produced by Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles of Warner Music Group which resulted in a record label as its grand prize.