Every generation was represented as greats of the past and present gathered for Essence Magazine’s Black Women in Music event this past Thursday.

Celebrating the past 45 years of Black women’s presence in music, the likes of Chaka Khan, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Zendaya, Leona Lewis, Prince,  and many more familiar faces walked the red carpet of the event.

Our own Karen Civil was honored to be the official social media ambassador for the event and got to talk with legends and aspiring legends alike. A performance of “Golden by Jill Scott featuring Brandy, MC Lyte, Lianne La Havas capped off the evening.

Check out an extensive photo gallery of the event below, courtesy of Essence Magazine’s Instagram.

I’m super excited to be the official @essencemag social media ambassador for #BlackWomenInMusic. Tune into the live stream on Essence.com at 7:30PST to see me and exclusive interviews from your favorite celebs!

A photo posted by Karen Civil (@karencivil) on Feb 5, 2015 at 8:07am PST

Thank you to @essencemag for letting me be the social media ambassador for tonight’s #BlackWomenInMusic event!

A photo posted by Karen Civil (@karencivil) on Feb 5, 2015 at 10:23pm PST