The ASCAP Foundation and The Heineken Music Initiative proudly announce the selection of Hilaire Charles of Miami, Florida as the first recipient of a special R&B grant program. Launched earlier this year, The Heineken Music Initiative/The ASCAP Foundation R&B Grant program is designed to assist emerging R&B songwriters in furthering their careers and will benefit up-and-coming songwriters in five key music markets across the country (New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and Miami). The winning songwriters from each of the markets will be awarded a $3,500 grant.

The grant was presented to Hilaire Charles at The Roney Palace Hotel in Miami during ASCAP's Rhythm & Soul SWAPmeet. On hand to make the presentation were Scott Hunter Smith, president of The Heineken Music Initiative and ASCAP’s Jeanie Weems, Vice President Film & TV/Special Projects.

"We congratulate Hilaire, our first beneficiary of this newly-created R&B grant program, said Jeanie Weems. "We are grateful to The Heineken Music Initiative for making this possible and would like to thank the panel of judges that helped in the selection process. This new program is the latest example of The ASCAP Foundation’s commitment to developing and nurturing the musical talent of the future."

Hilaire Charles is a Haitian-born songwriter/producer based in Miami. He was inspired by his older brother to become involved in music. The artists that influenced Hilaire include Earth Wind & Fire, Smokey Robinson, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Henry Mancini, Dr.Dre, and producers like Quincy Jones.

"I heard about the grant program from ASCAP Inside Music," said Hilaire. "It’s the first time I’ve entered a program of this nature and was pleasantly surprised to learn that I’d won. This is a great opportunity for up-and-coming artists like myself." ASCAP Inside Music is an e-newsletter exclusively for members who have registered their e-mail addresses with ASCAP.

"My winning song, ‘Beautiful Girl,’ was originally about telling a girl that she was lacking something," said Hilaire. "I was having a hard time finishing the song but once my girlfriend, now wife, Mirène, came into the picture, it changed everything and I ended up completing it as a wedding proposal song." Hilaire plans to spend some of the grant money on new recording equipment.

The ASCAP Rhythm & Soul SWAPmeet, where Hilaire Charles was presented with the grant, is a national event held at various times and locations throughout the year and is designed to give writers, producers, lyricists and artists an opportunity to network, develop collaborations, meet industry music professionals and discover as yet unheard talent. Participants in the SWAPmeet series have included She'kspere, Cody ChestnuTT, Warryn Campbell, DJ Quik, Jean Norris - formerly of Zhane, Big Jon Platt of EMI Music, Max Gouse of Epic Records, LaRonda Sutton of Universal and Big Chuck at Aftermath Records.

The Heineken Music Initiative was founded as a non-profit organization by Heineken USA Inc. Its board includes representatives from Heineken USA and the music industry.

ASCAP's Rhythm & Soul SWAPmeet

Since 1975 The ASCAP Foundation has been dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging the development of American music through educational and talent development programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, music education programs, and public service projects for senior composers and lyricists. The programs of The ASCAP Foundation are supported by contributions from ASCAP members and from music lovers throughout the United States.

ASCAP is a membership association of over 140,000 composers, songwriters and music publishers of all genres of music. ASCAP members are the dominant creative force in music. ASCAP songwriters secured ninety percent of the Top Ten R&B and Rap singles based on Billboard’s 2001-year end charts. The world’s largest performing rights organization, ASCAP protects the rights of its members by licensing and collecting royalties for the public performance of their copyrighted works. ASCAP is the only performing rights organization whose Board of Directors is made up solely of writers and publishers elected by the membership.