--- title: Essence to Honor Erykah Badu, Black Women in Music description: Find out how Essence is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Erykah Badu's debut album, Baduizm, during the week of the Grammys. canonical: https://time.com/4633590/erykah-badu-essence-grammys/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-12T21:35:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:23.088Z og:title: Essence Will Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Erykah Badu's Debut Album og:description: It's a celebration of Black girl magic og:url: https://time.com/4633590/erykah-badu-essence-grammys/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt893563e3500b7e84/6988b56ae20a874fc6a93bdd/erykah-badu-essence-album.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: 2016 Soul Train Music Awards - Show og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Essence Will Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Erykah Badu's Debut Album twitter:description: It's a celebration of Black girl magic twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt893563e3500b7e84/6988b56ae20a874fc6a93bdd/erykah-badu-essence-album.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Essence Will Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Erykah Badu's Debut Album > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Sydney Scott / Essence](https://time.com/author/essence/) ## Sydney Scott / Essence Contributor Jan 12, 2017 9:35 PM UTC  LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 06: Host Erykah Badu speaks onstage during the 2016 Soul Train Music Awards at the Orleans Arena on November 6, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mindy Small/FilmMagic) LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 06: Host Erykah Badu speaks onstage during the 2016 Soul Train Music Awards at the Orleans Arena on November 6, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mindy Small/FilmMagic) Mindy Small—FilmMagic by [Sydney Scott / Essence](https://time.com/author/essence/) ## Sydney Scott / Essence Contributor Jan 12, 2017 9:35 PM UTC [ESSENCE](http://www.essence.com/entertainment/www.essence.com/) is celebrating the phenomenal artist that is Erykah Badu at our 8th Annual [Black Women in Music](http://www.essence.com/galleries/scene-inside-essences-black-women-music-event) event during Grammy week. One of contemporary music’s most important artists, Badu has made her mark on the industry and inspired countless artists from the moment she stepped on the scene with her debut album, _Baduizm_, in 1997\. From “On and On” to “Next Lifetime,” _Baduizm_ was filled with hit after hit — which have now become classics. Badu won two Grammy’s for the classic album. “From the time that she first hit the scene we all fell in love with the genius that is Erykah Badu,” said ESSENCE Editor-in-Chief Vanessa De Luca. “It is only fitting that we honor the accomplishments of our neo-soul queen whose remarkable artistry still moves us twenty years later. We congratulate Erykah on her incredible career, as well as all of this year’s GRAMMY nominees who share their amazing gifts with the world.” Established in 2010, ESSENCE ‘s [Black Women in Music](http://www.essence.com/galleries/scene-inside-essences-black-women-music-event) celebrates the achievements on Black women in the industry. Previous honorees include Jill Scott, Andra Day, Solange, Mary J. Blige, [Kelly Rowland](http://www.essence.com/entertainment/www.essence.com/celebrity/beyonce-kelly-rowland-michelle-williams-mannequin-challenge)and Janelle Monaé. The event, held the week of the Grammys, will take place Thursday, February 9 in Los Angeles. The evening will also feature a performance from Roc Nation artist Tiwa Savage and salute this year’s Grammy nominees. It’s a celebration of Black women and Black girl magic. _This_ [_article_](http://www.essence.com/entertainment/essence-erykah-badu-black-women-music-grammy-event) _originally appeared on_ [_Essence.com_](http://essence.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4633590/erykah-badu-essence-grammys/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4633590/erykah-badu-essence-grammys/"},"headline":"Essence Will Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Erykah Badu's Debut Album","datePublished":"2017-01-12T21:35:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:23.088Z","description":"It's a celebration of Black girl magic","url":"https://time.com/4633590/erykah-badu-essence-grammys/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt893563e3500b7e84/6988b56ae20a874fc6a93bdd/erykah-badu-essence-album.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sydney Scott / Essence"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt893563e3500b7e84/6988b56ae20a874fc6a93bdd/erykah-badu-essence-album.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2016 Soul Train Music Awards - Show","caption":"2016 Soul Train Music Awards - Show","creditText":"Mindy Small—FilmMagic","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4633590/erykah-badu-essence-grammys/","name":"Essence Will Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Erykah Badu's Debut Album"}}]}] ```