PRODUCER Tony Kelly received two citations of achievement at the Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) R&B and Hip Hop Awards ceremony held at The Woodruff Arts Center’s Symphony Hall in Atlanta last Thursday evening.

Kelly received both awards for Luv by Canadian rapper Tory Lanez, which sampled the hit single Everyone Falls In Love by Tanto Metro and Devonte.

In an interview with Jamaica Observer yesterday, Kelly said he got word of the honour through his manager Janet Davidson.

“I am a very nonchalant person. However, I am very grateful for the honour. Both the original and the sampling of the song did really well, so I expected much to come,” said the producer, who attended the ceremony with emerging recording artiste Khaliah.

Kelly as producer and publisher, through his Tony Kelly Music label, copped the awards with Luv being one of 35 top-performing R&B Hip Hop songs of the year, according to BMI.

Released in 1998, Everyone Falls In Love also features production work from Donovan Germain.

“I knew both the song and rhythm was going to be a hit. It had a different feel to it and the song was one that any adult could relate to. It was just an experimenting of beats and it turned out well. It’s a combination of the beat and the song lyrics that made it great,” he said.

This is not the first time Kelly is being recognised for his work by the BMI. In 2003, he was also honoured for his work on Sean Paul’s hit single Like Glue.

Tony Kelly’s superior producing, mixing and writing skills have brought a host of Jamaican artistes to the attention of the American market. His sound has been instrumental in creating hit songs for artistes including Wayne Wonder, Super Cat, TOK, Shaggy, Beenie Man, and Baby ham.

He has had the most crossover hits of any dancehall/reggae producer. He lent his production skills to several Grammy Award-winning or Grammy-nominated albums, including Sean Paul’s Dutty Rock, Beenie Man’s Art And Life, and Shaggy’s Boombastic.

BMI is a non-profit organisation founded in 1939. It is is the bridge between songwriters and the businesses and organisations that want to play their music publicly. As a global leader in music rights management, BMI serves as an advocate for the value of music, representing nearly 12 million musical works created and owned by more than 750,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers.