Written by | Ray Cornelius
The mothership officially landed in Atlanta this past Thursday evening as the ‘Godfather of Funk’ George Clinton was honored during Big Boi’s Annual Charity event supporting his Big Kidz Foundation.
This year’s theme, Champion of the Arts, paid tribute to Clinton for his cultural contributions to R&B, Hip Hop and Funk music. Other honorees included three-time Tony Award-winning actor and dance choreographer Hinton Battle and the Grammy Award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Musical entertainment was provided by BET’s 2012 Music Matters artist, Clinton Babers II as well as a soul stirring acoustic rendition of the Whitney Houston favorite, “The Greatest Love of All,” as sung by former Xscape member LaTocha Scott.
Also on hand to celebrate were Mychael Knight of Project Runway fame, Atlanta radio personality Frank Ski, music executive Shanti Das, and HIV-AIDS motivational speaker & activist Denise Stokes. The evening was hosted by Egypt Sherrod of HGTV’s Property Virgins.
However, the highlight of the evening was Clinton’s impromptu performance of his classic hit “One Nation under a Groove” which had everyone on their feet; quickly turning the Atlanta Metro Chamber Rooftop Pavilion into one big dance party.
Check out these amazing red carpet photos, courtesy of OPM Photography:
Egypt Sherrod
George Clinton
LaTocha Scott
Mark Kent, The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Big Boi
Egypt Sherrod, Big Boi, and Jennifer Lester, Executive Director of The Big Kidz Foundation
George Clinton, Big Boi and Hinton Battle
