When Solange won the Centric Award at Sunday’s BET Awards, her acceptance speech seemed fairly run-of-the-mill at first. She thanked her family and friends, her husband and son, and her collaborators on “Cranes in the Sky,” the song for which she took home the trophy. But, badass that she is, Solange defied expectations by thanking BET itself for its history of including powerful, talented female artists onscreen — and therefore encouraging young women watching at home.

“I just want to thank BET for, you know, my teenage years, giving me images of queens like Missy Elliot and Lil’ Kim and Aaliyah and Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill and Kelis and Reese, and the list goes on,” Solange said with a huge grin on her face. “And [for] showing me those images and letting me know the sky’s the limit.”

Solange, whose latest album is titled “A Seat At the Table,” didn’t elaborate further on the BET queens’ influence on her, but it’s not hard to connect the dots. As a kid, Solange watched successful female artists on BET and felt inspired to follow in their footsteps. She saw women like her onscreen and knew she could inhabit that same space because representation matters. If she can see it, she can be it.

Many people know Solange as Beyonce’s little sister and occasional Destiny’s Child collaborator, but the younger Knowles has made a name all her own through her music. As Refinery29 details, “A Seat At the Table” is “a direct response to the complexities of being a Black woman, dealing with everything from fetishization of Black hair to fighting against the stigma of being an ‘Angry Black Woman.’” The source describes the album’s debut as “a moment when [women of color] felt powerful and seen.”

Solange’s previous solo albums are “True,” “Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams,” and “Solo Star.” She won the Grammy for Best R&B Performance for “Cranes in the Sky” earlier this year.

Check out the “Cranes in the Sky” video below. It was directed by Solange and her husband, Alan Ferguson.