The 2021 Soul Train Awards culminated its whirlwind week in New York with one more local stop before the hippest trip in America departure. On Sunday, Nov. 21, the locomotive pulled up to Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park with a purpose in mind: to usurp the world record of World’s Largest Soul Train Line. DJ Scratch and DJ Enuf staffed the wheels and steel with eclectic selections from Slave, James Brown, TS Monk, Queen, Freedom, Beyonce, Michael Jackson and of course a steady dose of hip hop to get the lines moving to the targeted number to beat, 426 people. The community at large, passersby, dance organizations, HBCU alum chapters and even the boys in blue (the NYPD) pooled their efforts and were rewarded at roughly 3 p.m. with the announcement from Guinness World Records official Christine Fernandez; she witnessed that the criteria was met and that a new world record had been set. The new standard is 536, enough to break the record from Goodyear Ballpark in Arizona, which called a soul train line of 426 dancers in 2014.
Going into the first-ever 2021 “Soul Train Awards” weekend, a multiplatform experience celebrating the best in culture, commerce, entertainment and music, the three-day event looked to impact the community at large as well as celebrate the 50th anniversary of Soul Train and the premiere of the 2021 “Soul Train Awards,” taping for the first time ever at the World Famous Apollo in New York City.
“BET is proud to support the communities we serve and looks forward to providing grass-roots experiences beyond the screen that highlight the best in Black culture,” said BET President Scott Mills.
“We look forward to embracing our audience with a warm ‘hug’ after more than a year of elevated health, financial and mental disparities,” added Staci Hallmon, general manager, BET L!VE. “We can’t wait to kick off our first-ever ‘Soul Train Awards’ Weekend experience with on-the-ground events specially designed to celebrate the annual tentpole event and the resiliency of NYC.”
Mission accomplished and objective completed. The 2021 Soul Train Awards presented by BET premieres Sunday, Nov. 28, at 8 p.m. ET on BET and BET Her. The show will simulcast internationally on BET Africa at 2 a.m. CAT on Nov. 29 and air on BET France Dec. 1 at 10:30 p.m. CET. The show will also be available to watch on My5 and Sky On-Demand, in the U.K., beginning Dec. 3
Over and out. Holla next week. Til then enjoy your turkey day and then the nightlife.
you saved the Dinner…