The multi-Grammy-award-winning artist Missy Elliott was just named Essence’s Black Women in Music honor for 2018. The Get Ur Freak On and Work It singer, who has collaborated with music icons including Timbaland and Pharrell, will receive the prestigious honor on Jan. 25 next year, at the Highline Ballroom in New York City during Grammys week, the magazine announced Thursday. Previous recipients of Essence‘s Black Women in Music honor, first established in 2010, include singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, music industry veteran Sylvia Rhone, Golden Globe winer Mary J.