Kehlani, The Roots & More Honored at Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players 2026: Best Photos

Jill Scott, Samara Cyn, Destin Conrad and more were also on hand to accept their awards. Questlove and Black Thought accept the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame Award at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Joy Malone Trending on Billboard Billboard hosted its 2026 R&B Hip-Hop Power Players event in NYC on Wednesday (Sept. 9). Rap and R&B royalty graced SoHo House as artists, managers, executives, publicists and industry mainstays mingled throughout the night. The Roots were inducted into the Billboard Hip-Hop Hall of Fame, while Jill Scott was honored with the R&B Hall of Fame award. In addition to honoring the past and giving Ms. Scott and The Roots their flowers, Billboard looked toward the future with a trio of emerging artists. Samara Cyn accepted the honor for Billboard‘s 2026 Hip-Hop Rising Star, while Destin Conrad was named the 2026 R&B Rising Star and Skippa took home the first-ever Caribbean Rising Star award. All three artists will be hitting the stage at Billboard‘s R&B Hip-Hop Live 2026 concert on Thursday (Sept. 10) at Brooklyn Steel, which will also feature performances from Lucky Daye, Yung Miami and kwn. It was a celebratory night for the Above Ground Entertainment family. Above Ground CEO David Ali was honored as the R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players executive of the year. Ali has also managed Kehlani for more than a decade, and the Grammy-winning singer was honored as Billboard‘s 2026 R&B Artist of the Year. Kehlani dedicated her award win to Ali with a heartfelt speech recalling their challenging journey to the top. “What I didn’t know at the time is I’d gain the closest thing I’ve ever had to a father,” she said. “To know David is to love David.” See some of the best photos from the 2025 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event below. Black Thought and Michelle Trotter Image Credit: Joy Malone Black Thought and Michelle Trotter at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Rod Stewart and Laila! Image Credit: Joy Malone Rod Stewart and Laila! at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Samara Cyn Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Samara Cyn accepts the Rising Star Award at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Leila Cobo and Jason Lipshutz Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Leila Cobo and Jason Lipshutz at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Jae Brown, Rich the Kid Image Credit: Joy Malone Jae Brown, Rich the Kid and guest at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Jill Scott and Jett Hamilton Roberts Image Credit: Joy Malone Jill Scott and Jett Hamilton Roberts at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Destin Conrad, Skippa and Samara Cyn Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Destin Conrad, Skippa and Samara Cyn accept the Rising Star Award at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Laila! Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Laila! at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Kehlani Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Kehlani at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Skippa Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Skippa accepts the Rising Star Award at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Jill Scott Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Jill Scott accepts the R&B Hall of Fame Award at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. JoJo and Kehlani Image Credit: Joy Malone JoJo and Kehlani at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Cannon Kent and Kevin Holiday Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Cannon Kent and Kevin Holiday at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Kehlani Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Kehlani accepts the R&B Artist of the Year Award at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. JoJo Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey JoJo at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Janelle Gibbs, Angelique Jones, Selim Bouab, Rayna Bass, Kayla Harris, Lallie Jones and Cole Rechan Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Janelle Gibbs, Angelique Jones, Selim Bouab, Rayna Bass, Kayla Harris, Lallie Jones and Cole Rechan at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Black Thought and Questlove Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Black Thought and Questlove at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Questlove and Black Thought Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Questlove and Black Thought accept the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame Award at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Lucky Daye Image Credit: Joy Malone Lucky Daye at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Rod Stewart, Shawnae Corbett-Rice, Ericka J. Coulter and Brannon Scales Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Rod Stewart, Shawnae Corbett-Rice, Ericka J. Coulter and Brannon Scales at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. D’Mile Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey D’Mile at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Vanessa Williams, Jihan Peters, Phylicia Fant and Sharon Bako Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey Vanessa Williams, Jihan Peters, Phylicia Fant and Sharon Bako at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on September 09, 2026 in New York City, New York. Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up