Veteran singer Richie Stephens was among the honorees at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) awards in Hollywood, California Thursday night.
He received the Pop Award for contributing to Rihanna’s mega-selling song, Work. Released early last year, it featured Canadian star rapper Drake and went number one in the US, as well as several European countries.
Stephens, 50, has been recording for almost 30 years and was at one stage signed to Motown Records.
He described the ASCAP award as “a proud moment for Jamaica, for dancehall and for the entire Jamaican music industry.”
Three of the producers (Matthew ‘Boi-1da’ Samuels, Jahron ‘PartyNextDoor’ Brathwaite and Sevn Thomas) are Jamaicans who live in Canada. Work sampled Stephens Sail Away rhythm, which was released by his Pot of Gold label in 1998.
