Beyoncé doesn't only loom large in American culture just because of her hits. Although her musical accomplishments are staggering—at 28 GRAMMY wins, she holds the record for most GRAMMYs won by a woman—Beyoncé's ongoing commitment to uplifting and celebrating the Black community has become a key part of her legacy.

This goes beyond her empowering songs—it's in her public statements and art, too.

In the debut episode of GRAMMY.com's Black Sounds Beautiful series, a special series honoring Black music and culture in all its forms, learn about the many ways in which Beyoncé's words, music and initiatives have celebrated and elevated the Black community and how she remains a steadfast fighter for the accomplishments of Black people everywhere.

"It's important to me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty, so they can grow up in a world where they look in the mirror—first through their own families as well as the news, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the White House, and the GRAMMYs—and see themselves and have no doubt that they're beautiful, intelligent and capable," Beyoncé said in an acceptance speech at the 59th GRAMMY Awards in 2017.

She doubled-down on the sentiment at the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show when she won the GRAMMY for Best R&B Performance for "BLACK PARADE," which she originally released on Juneteenth last year.

"As an artist, I believe it's my job, and all of our jobs, to reflect the times," she said in her GRAMMY acceptance speech this past March. "... So, I wanted to uplift, encourage and celebrate all of the beautiful Black queens and kings that continue to inspire me and inspire the whole world."

She's continued to do exactly that throughout her entire career.

In 2018, Beyoncé headlined Coachella, becoming the first-ever Black woman artist to headline the festival. She used the history-making moment as a platform to celebrate Black culture, inviting performers from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to the Coachella stage and mixing in vocal snippets of Black icons like Malcolm X and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her 2020 GRAMMY-nominated music film, Black Is King, is a "love letter" to Black men. The film is the visual counterpart to The Lion King: The Gift, a 2019 soundtrack album curated by Beyoncé that spotlights African and Afrobeats artists like Wizkid, Burna Boy, Mr Eazi and many others.

Check out the strengthening clip above and watch out for more episodes of Black Sounds Beautiful as GRAMMY.com's Black Music Month celebrations proceed throughout June.

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Almost a decade ago, Beyoncé unexpectedly dropped her self-titled studio album. Not only is the album credited for popularizing the concept of a surprise drop and shifting new music releases from Tuesday to Friday, but it also invented the modern-day visual album.

Adding to its legacy, Beyoncé scored the superstar three more GRAMMYs in 2015. In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, revisit when Beyoncé won Best R&B Performance for one of the many chart-topping singles from her industry-altering album, "Drunk in Love." 

Her short-but-sweet speech praised a few special people in her life: "I'd like to thank God. This has been such an incredible year," she beamed. "My beloved husband, I love you deep. My daughter who's watching, Blue — I love you."

Before heading off the stage, Beyoncé closed her speech by acknowledging her loyal fanbase, the Beyhive. "Thank you guys for riding so hard," she proclaimed.

"Drunk in Love" also won Best R&B Performance earlier that night, and Beyoncé's self-titled 2014 album won Best Surround Sound Album.

Press play on the video above to watch Beyoncé's humble acceptance speech for "Drunk in Love" at the 2015 GRAMMY Awards, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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For burgeoning singer Otis Kemp, gospel music consists of two elements: praising God and radiating good vibes. "Sometimes people say I'm 'flashy,' but there's nothing wrong with showin' out for Jesus," he's said— and that's exactly the mindset he had with his latest release, "Daily Bread."

"I'm honoring you, Your Majesty and Mighty King/ Turn up my radio/ You're the reason why I sing/ Yeah, that's my song," he declares in the second verse.

In this episode of Positive Vibes Only, Kemp delivers a glowing performance of his moving single, "Daily Bread." He performs the track alongside a choir with interludes of hypnotic dance moves, only amplifying "Daily Bread's" uplifting energy.

"Daily Bread" was inspired by the Bible verse Matthew 6:9-13, and created to invoke gratitude and relief from the unavoidable obstacles of everyday life. The song even received a co-sign from 19-time GRAMMY-winning gospel legend Kirk Franklin, as "Daily Bread" was No. 1 on his SiriusXM channel's fan-favorite countdown for two consecutive weeks. And as of press time, the track is at No. 6 on Billboard's Gospel Airplay chart.

Press play on the video above to watch Otis Kemp's feel-good performance of "Daily Bread," and check back to GRAMMY.com every Sunday for more new episodes of Positive Vibes Only.

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Ivory Coast-born musician Peter One had a prolific career in music during the late '90s, but after political unrest uprooted his plans, he turned to nursing to support his family. Last month, he triumphantly returned after two decades with his major label debut, Come Back to Me.

Amongst One's newest folk offering lives "Sweet Rainbow," an honest love ballad about a life-changing relationship. "Sweet Rainbow, I love you/ Wonderful baby, I love you so much," he sings in the track's opening line.

In this episode of Press Play, One performs "Sweet Rainbow" live, accompanied by a pianist and guitarists. Emphasizing the intimate nature of the song, he sings the B-side at night from a secluded forest.

"In this song, the girlfriend is like a rainbow because her background is of many different cultures. For one reason or another, we broke up, and I'm just telling her to come back and forget about the past for anything that happened. I'll forgive her," the singer revealed in a press statement. 

On May 6, One began the tour for the new album in Nashville, Tennessee, and will appear at the Newport Folk, Pilgrimage, and Rebels & Renegades festivals later this year.

Watch the video above to see Peter One's tranquil performance of "Sweet Rainbow," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Press Play.

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The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, recording legend, icon of empowerment. No matter how one refers to Tina Turner, her passing constitutes a seismic loss that marks the end of a shining cultural legacy which leaves in its wake an industry-shaping career. Throughout her eight GRAMMY wins and 25 nominations, Turner’s vast and generation-spanning musical output proved equally entertaining and inspirational.

The icon died on May 24 at her home near Zurich, Switzerland. She was 83.

"Tina Turner broke barriers for women on and off the stage throughout her incredible career," said Harvey Mason jr, CEO of The Recording Academy, of Turner who received GRAMMY’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and is a three-time inductee to the GRAMMY Hall of Fame. "She amazed audiences worldwide with her electrifying performances, including on our GRAMMY stage in 1985 and 2008, and was an undeniable rockstar who paved the way for so many with her signature style and powerful vocals. She will be greatly missed by all the people she touched around the globe."

It’s a sentiment shared by the music industry, and world, at large. "She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer,"Mick Jaggerwrote on social media. "She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her." On her website, Beyoncé — who performed with Turner at the 50th GRAMMY Awards — paid tribute to her "beloved Queen," writing, "I love you endlessly. I’m so grateful for your inspiration and all the ways you paved the way. You are strength and resilience. You are the epitome of power and passion."Elton John put it simply: "We have lost one of the world's most exciting and electric performers," he wrote. "She was untouchable."

Turner’s untouchable talent famously embodied two phases. First, her tumultuous collaboration with husband Ike Turner, during which they performed as a duo and yielded hits including the oft-covered "Proud Mary." The instantly-recognizable song earned the couple a GRAMMY Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Group in 1972 and was inducted in the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 2003. In her triumphant second act, Turner broke away from the partnership. She reinvented herself as a solo performer, improbably transitioning from a '60s and '70s-era rocker to arena pop star in the 1980s. 

For her efforts, the singer swept the major categories at the 1985 GRAMMY Awards, winning Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "What’s Love Got To Do With It." She also took home the golden gramophone for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Better Be Good To Me."

One of her most indelible hits, Turner utilized "What's Love Got To Do With It" as a call to action, becoming brutally honest about her abusive relationship with her ex-husband along the way. Turner later recalled toRolling Stone that when she left Ike in July 1976, "I had nothing. I didn’t even know how to get money. I had a girl working for me who had worked for Ike, because she knew about ways of getting money. I didn’t know how to do any of that stuff." She later devised what’s considered one of the greatest comebacks in music history.

First offered to Donna Summer — who sat on the track before ultimately passing — songwriter Terry Britten later revealed that she thought "What’s Love Got to Do With It" was "awful." Turner didn't like the song either, but recorded it following encouragement from her manager, Roger Davis.

"I said, 'If it doesn't work out, we won't use it. So let's give it a go,'" Britten recalled in her 2021 documentary, Tina.  It wasn’t until Turner laid down her vocal track that the song was elevated from pop confection into a showcase for the vocal powerhouse. "They weren't used to a strong voice standing on top of music," Turner said in the documentary. "But I converted it and made it my own."

Turner’s deft musical translation is evident throughout her eclectic discography, from the blues-inflicted rock she performed as Ike & Tina Turner, to pop anthems like 1989’s "The Best" (which became a trademark and, naturally, the title of a popular greatest hits album).  In 1962, she was nominated for her first GRAMMY Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording for "It’s Gonna Work Out Fine,"  her and Ike’s hit from the previous year which was offered to them after songwriter Rose Marie McCoy saw their energetic stage show at the Apollo. 

It was an auspicious early hit for Turner, who would become a staple of the category for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. Decades later, she earned back-to-back wins in the category for "One of the Living" and "Back Where We Started" in 1986 and 1987, a nomination for "Better Be Good To Me" in ‘88, and took home the golden gramophone in ‘89 for Tina Live in Europe, among many others. 

"My songs are a little bit of everybody’s lives who are watching me," said Turner to Rolling Stonein the midst of her hot streak in 1986. "You gotta sing what they can relate to. And there are some raunchy people out there. The world is not perfect. And all of that is in my performance; I play with it."

Born Anna Mae Bullock, Turner’s journey to musical dynamo began on the farmlands of Tennessee where she discovered early on her passion for artistic expression. "As a girl, every chance I got, I’d go to our local movie theater and memorize scenes so I could reenact them," she recalled in 2021 the Harvard Business Review. "Although I did have a bit of singing training in high school and even learned some opera, my voice and dance abilities have mostly come naturally to me." 

That vocal prowess and inimitable energy as a performer was on full display throughout her life behind the microphone, one of the most memorable examples being "River Deep-Mountain High." Inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 1999, her duet with Ike was produced by Phil Spector who Turner said had him cut her vocals ad nauseam to spectacular results. "I must have sung that 500,000 times," she told Rolling Stone after the publication ranked the track No. 33 of their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "I was drenched with sweat. I had to take my shirt off and stand there in my bra to sing." 

Upon her death, the New York Times called her "a magnetic singer with explosive power." That power was visible on and off the stage, both in her artistry and ability to soldier on in the face of the numerous obstacles.  In a 2005 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Turner explained, "There's an expression, 'You'll never get out of this world alive.' It's true. We won't. Go forward. Do your best with your makeup, hair, and clothes." 

In that same interview, Turner also mused about her legacy, touching on the inspiration she doled out by being her authentic self. "My wish is to give the kind of truth to people that will help them change their minds. When that happens, I'll be the best that I can be."

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