00:00Thank you to the legendary Ms. Dionne Warwick for being a part of this moment.
00:05Thank you to Billboard for this incredible honor.
00:14Let him have it, sis.
00:17First and foremost, I give all glory to God because I know without a shadow of a doubt,
00:22none of this would be possible without his grace, his timing, his protection over my life.
00:30There were so many moments I didn't really understand, even like the one now.
00:34But I now see.
00:38But I now see.
00:41He was always working, even when I couldn't.
00:46You go up blue, yeah.
00:48This year marks 20 years in music for me.
00:5220 years of showing up, thank you.
00:5720 years of showing up, even when it hurt, like now.
01:0320 years of growing, evolving, falling, and finding my way back to myself.
01:1020 years of holding on to a dream, even in the moments it felt like it was slipping through my
01:15fingers.
01:16And what those 20 years taught me is that purpose doesn't rush.
01:21Purpose waits on you to become who you're meant to be.
01:25What's for you will find you, even if it has to circle back a hundred times.
01:30I've always chosen to do things my way, not because it was easy, but because it was honest.
01:37And there were times that it honestly felt lonely.
01:41Times I was misunderstood, overlooked, counted out.
01:45But I kept going because I knew who I was, even when the world didn't quite see me yet.
01:51I've been blessed to walk in so many gifts.
01:54Music, dance, acting, directing.
01:57But at the core of it all, music is my first love.
02:00It's where I found my voice.
02:02It's what held me when I didn't feel held.
02:05It's what carried me through some of the hardest seasons of my life.
02:08And as a woman, and as women, we are visionaries by nature.
02:14We don't wait for permission.
02:16We create possibility.
02:18We take what we've been through and we turn it into something the world can feel.
02:25We turn pain into purpose.
02:28Silence into sound.
02:31Dreams into something people can finally see.
02:33And that kind of vision, it doesn't change us.
02:36It changes everything around us.
02:38So never underestimate a woman with a vision.
02:41Because by the time you see it, she's already been building it.
02:45To my mother, my mommy.
02:48Who is also being honored tonight.
02:50You are my backbone.
02:52You are my safe place.
02:54You are my covering.
02:56It was so dope watching you curse them out back there.
03:10But I will say, I want to thank Billboard for the accountability.
03:15I want to thank Billboard for being warm.
03:17I want to thank Billboard for coming to the room right away.
03:21And acknowledging what was done.
03:23So I appreciate you, Billboard.
03:24Thank you very much.
03:29She told me how to have grace, y'all.
03:33You believed in me before I had anything to show for it, mommy.
03:37Before there were any lights.
03:39Before there were any stages.
03:40Before there was proof.
03:42You saw me, mommy.
03:44And sometimes, that's all a little girl needs.
03:46It's for someone to see her.
03:47I love you in a way words will never fully hold.
03:51To my daughters, my baby, Junie and Rue.
03:53My heart, my reason.
03:55You are my why.
03:56You are why I keep pushing.
03:58You are why I keep becoming everything I do.
04:01Every sacrifice.
04:02Every late night.
04:02Every prayer is rooted in the life I want you to see is possible.
04:06I want you to know.
04:08You don't ever have to ask for space in this world.
04:11You belong in it exactly as you are.
04:14To my village, Coco Natina.
04:16And every woman who has made.
04:18Every woman who has stood by me.
04:21In my life.
04:22And lifted me.
04:22And poured into me.
04:23Thank you for holding me up when I needed it most.
04:26And to every woman here.
04:28Every woman.
04:29Every young girl watching.
04:30Trying to figure it out.
04:32Please.
04:32Please.
04:33Please.
04:33Please don't shrink yourself to fit in rooms that were never built for you in mind.
04:38Build your own.
04:39Take up space.
04:41Be loud about your dreams.
04:43Even when your voice shakes.
04:45Because yes.
04:47Being different might make people feel uncomfortable.
04:49But it's also the very thing that will make you unforgettable.
04:53Thank you for seeing me.
04:54Thank you all for honoring me tonight.
04:56And I'm just so grateful to be here.
04:59Miss Dionne.
04:59I love you.
05:00I love you.
05:01I love you.
05:01I love you so much.
05:02Thank you for taking me in.
05:04Thank you for seeing me.
05:05Thank you for loving me.
05:06Thank you for spoiling me.
05:07You are an icon.
05:08And I love you so much.
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