Watch Jill Scott Accept Her Billboard R&B Hall of Fame Induction: ‘This Is a Testament to Yes’

Take it from Jill Scott: Her illustrious career, a multi-decade calling packed with hits, accolades and acclaim across the spectrum, boils down to one word: Yes.

Inducted into the Billboard R&B Hall of Fame on Wednesday (Sept. 9) by Trevor Anderson, Billboard’s senior charts and data analyst for R&B/hip-hop, the award-winning singer-songwriter reflected to the audience at Ludlow House in New York City how her esteemed career began with a simple yet powerful decision: “This is a testament to yes,” she began. “Many years ago, I had someone hurt my feelings. I wrote a poem — it made me feel better. I shared it, and my girlfriend said go read it at a poetry reading, and I said yes.”

That final word evolved into a refrain throughout the superstar’s acceptance speech, an accompaniment for every step of her life’s work.

When she was invited to another poetry reading? Yes.

Her first offered acting gig? Yes.

And when Questlove asked her to write her first hook, despite no experience? Yes.

That moment, when Scott co-penned The Roots‘ Grammy-winning single “You Got Me,” kickstarted the philosophy that has carried her through the years. “Yes is scary, yes is thrilling and my precious career has proven to me, when the soul says yes, the juice is worth the squeeze.”

And when it comes to R&B talent, to extend the metaphor, Scott’s cup runneth over. In her career, the Grammy Award-winner has landed nine top 10 albums on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and placed 17 top 10s on the Adult R&B Airplay list — including five No. 1s. Her most recent, this year’s “Pressha,” came 25 years after she first led the list, with “A Long Walk” in 2001, giving the Hall of Famer a stretch of 25 years with creating No. 1 product.

This year, Scott released To Whom This May Concern, her first album since 2015. The set reached the top 10 of seven different Billboard album charts. The welcome return, another highlight in a rich career, sparked the latest of Scott’s recurring affirmations. Thanking Billboard for recognizing her, she professed: “Yes — yes! — to this honor, and to all the fans who live their lives with the fruit of my yes.”

Scott’s R&B Hall of Fame induction continued a wave of honors at the annual gathering. Also that night, The Roots became the newest inductees into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame, Kehlani was honored as R&B Artist of the Year, while her manager, David Ali, was crowned Executive of the Year. Skippa, Samara Cyn and Destin Conrad, meanwhile, were named Rising Stars of the Year for the Carribbean, hip-hop and R&B sectors, respectively.

Watch Jill Scott’s full induction moment, complete with the introductory remarks and the acceptance speech, below.