4th Annual Southern Entertainment AwardsCelebrating the BEST in independent urban entertainment in the SOUTHCONTACT: Janiro Hawkins II, Co-Founder/Event Coordinator615-397-7827 (ph), 321-2631 (f)janiro@southernentawards.comwww.southernentawards.com ---FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE---Nashville, TN---February 2006----This past January marked the huge success of the 3rd Annual Southern Entertainment Awards at the Grand Casino in Tunica, MS. Co-founders, Janiro Hawkins II and DJ Infamous are already gearing up another great year.Thanks to the incorporation of all the Southern states (TN, GA, OK, TX, MS, FL, AR, AL, NC SC and LA), new award categories including best ?Urban Magazine?, ?Mixtape Website?, ?Model? and ?Spoken Word Artist?, and the assistance of the Rap Coalition founder, Wendy Day, the SEAs have received more than just a little buzz around the urban entertainment community. Nationally-generated pre-press garnered them a feature on the celebrated online hip-hop magazine website, AllHipHop Dot Com and MTV was on site during the awards program that had an attendance of over 1,200 people. National DJs (Clinton Sparks, DJ Drama, Rapid Ric), artists (BG, Yo Gotti, La Chat, Ms. Cherry, Gangsta Boo, DSR), promoters and label executives from all over the country including New York, New Jersey, California, Ohio and Michigan were also in attendance, proving that this event is not just for southern-based artists but for all those in the independent industry. ?I?ve also noticed more people planning ahead for the SEAs, from the timing of when artists release their CDs to magazines creating special issues around the event,? says Janiro Hawkins II. ?I?m really proud of its progression. The only thing differently I would like to see in 2007 is for more people to make it out for the entire weekend so that they can benefit from not just the awards show but the conference and various panels as well. This year there were about 300-500 people in attendance at the conferences, which is approximately a 200% growth from when we first began. But, because we?re always trying to stay on top of the advancements in the entertainment industry, we believe that the entire experience could play a significant role in taking independent artists to that next level.?Next year will bring about more additions including new award categories (?Impact Personality?, ?Slept On Personality?, ?Record Pool?, ?Independent DVD?, ?Mix DVD?, ?DVD Magazine?). However, while the founders of the SEAs currently reside in Nashville, the home of the awards show will remain in Tunica.?Tunica has welcomed us with open arms and for now, this is the place best suited for what we want to achieve,? says Hawkins.Nominations for the 2007 Southern Entertainment Awards will begin on Monday, May 1, 2006 and voting will start on Friday, September 1, 2006.