Jill Scott is set to be honored at Essence magazine’s sixth annual Black Women in Music. The three-time Grammy Award winner has long influenced musicians that have come after her and as Essence President Michelle Ebanks describes the singer, she’s “a fearless innovator.”

“It will be 15 years in July that my first album came out,” Scott tells Billboard.com, “and Essence has been there the entire time. I’m truly honored.”

Essence Editor-in-Chief Vanessa K. DeLuca said, “Like many of the female artists who inspired her, Jill Scott has touched the collective soul of women across generations.”

Scott joins an impressive list of Black Women in Music honorees, including Mary J. Blige, Kelly Rowland, Janelle Monáe and Solange Knowles. The event will be held Feb. 5 and will kick off a year-long celebration of the publication’s 45th anniversary.
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