MOJAMOJA Honors Hip Hop Icons Will.I.Am, The Beat Junkies, and The Revolution at 10th Anniversary of Music Discovery

MojaMoja celebrated its 10th Anniversary of music discovery on February 10th at the Avalon Hollywood. The brunch benefit concert was attended by more than 250 cultural and musical tastemakers who came together to celebrate the stellar achievements of Hip Hop icons will.i.am, The Beat Junkies, a legendary West Cost DJ crew, and Prince's band The Revolution. The concert featured performances from breakout artists Jungle Fire with their highly explosive psychedelic afro/latin funk sound; The Steoples, a genre-fusion alternative R&B duo; Wajatta, the collaborative between comedian-musician Reggie Watts and electronic musician, DJ and producer John Tejada; along with the drumming prodigy Elise Trouw, a gifted modern indie pop multi-instrumentalist who has a viral-mashup of "Everlong" by Foo Fighters and "What You Won't Do for Love" by Bobby Caldwell with more than 7 million views on Facebook. All artists donated their performances to benefit the MojaMoja Innovation Fund and House of Blues Music Forward Foundation.

For the first year ever, MojaMoja introduced the Soul Controller award to acknowledge respected music selectors who take risks and spark change through their work and the STEAM award for artist who use technology to innovate and create opportunities for others. Upon receiving the award, The Beat Junkies acknowledged their start as a local around-the-way crew to their rise as an orchestrated group of music makers. The Revolution's Lisa and Wendy accepted the Vanguard Award paying homage to the group's founder and their early commitment to bringing and sustaining innovative change in music that has impacted a generation of artists behind them. Rueben Estrada, a scholarship recipient of will.i.am's I.Am.Angel Foundation accepted the STEAM award on behalf of the legendary creative innovator for his significant contributions of educational programs in coding, robotics, and design for underrepresented youth. Award presenters included MojaMoja co-founder Garth Trinidad, DJ Rashida; Prince's DJ and Olympia LePoint, a rocket scientist and author.

The event was sponsored by dailyKARMA, FIGat7th, KCRW and LA Canvas and co-produced in association with Senovva, a prestigious design and management group known for its entertainment and awards show production services. Funds raised from the event will go toward stipends for underrepresented students at trade schools and community colleges who want to pursue summer internship/apprenticeship in the science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) fields

MojaMoja was co-founded in 2009 by Garth Trinidad, an NPR affiliate and KCRW 20-year veteran DJ; Ramona Wright, a strategic communication influencer, author, and host of The Chair podcast; and Oscar Merino, founder of 52BLEND, a creative agency specializing in the best live event experiences, talent, and supporting an inclusive culture. During the past decade MojaMoja performers have included Janelle Monáe, Questlove, Flying Lotus, Little Dragon, Los Amigos Invisibles, Anderson .Paak and more than 70 artists from around the world. Also, during the past 10 years music icons including Sheila E., Nile Rodgers, along with fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Mavis Staples, George Clinton, and Sly Stone have all been honored with the MojaMoja Vanguard Award. For more information please visit http://www.themojamoja.com

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