A montage of her career and life was played before the singer took the mic to accept her Rock Star Award nod.
- April 3, 2016
AceShowbiz -
Rihanna was among those honored during Friday, April 1 Black Girls Rock! Event held at New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The "Diamonds" singer was handed the Rock Star Award and she reportedly teared up upon receiving the accolade.
The ceremony will only be aired on BET this Tuesday but Billboard had some insight to what happened inside. A montage of Rihanna's life was played including her interaction with grandma Gran Dolly. She was seen with tears on her eyes when walking to the podium to accept her prize.
"Thank you so much for celebrating us in a world that doesn't celebrate us enough. The minute you learn to love yourself, you will not want to be anybody else," she said in her speech. "Role model is not the title they like to give me ...but I think I can inspire a lot of young women to be themselves and that is half the battle. Hopefully one day I'll be raising my own little black girl who rocks."
The annual event is held to promote the arts for young women of color as well as encourage dialogue and analysis of the ways women of color are portrayed in the media. Other honorees include TV producer Shonda Rhimes, singer Gladys Knight, and "The Walking Dead" star Danai Gurira.
Performers of the night include R&B singers Monica, Brandy, Andra Day, Jazmine Sullivan, Marsha Ambrosius and Lauryn Hill. The event will be aired starting 8 P.M. Tuesday.
