Jazmine Sullivan says her Grammy win is a win for Black women everywhere

R&B superstar Jazmine Sullivan has been creating real, soul-touching music for over a decade. And while Grammy recognition for the star’s undeniable body of work finally came Sunday night, Sullivan’s championing of Black women through her music is something she’s particularly proud of.

“Shout-out to Black women who are out there living their lives and being beautiful,” she said as she accepted the award for Best R&B album, for Heaux Tales.

The Philadelphia native was first nominated for a Grammy back in 2009 and in 11 nominations thereafter, she hadn’t won. That all changed on Sunday night, when Sullivan took home two awards, including Best R&B Performance for “Pick Up Your Feelings,” from Heaux Tales.

“The project became so much more than just my own kind of catharsis for the things that I was going through, it became a really a safe place for Black women,” Sullivan told reporters after winning. “This project has just done so much for us to kind of come together and just share our stories and not be ashamed about the things that we went through.”

With Heaux Tales, and the many chart-topping tracks that preceded the album, the powerhouse singer was intentional about telling stories of Black women and their experiences. The new Grammy winner said she’s “blessed” that the project, which served as an outlet for her friends and family to share personal anecdotes about love, relationships, money, and everything in between, resonated well with the Black community.

Since Sunday night’s win, Black women all over have celebrated and cheered for the star. One person on Twitter wrote, “HEAUX TALES JUST GOT THAT GRAMMY BABY, BLACK WOMEN—and specifically Jazmine Sullivan—FOR THE WIN!!! Nature is healing #GRAMMYs.”